Himachal mid-day meal worker hacked to death in front of students, accused arrested

UPDATED: Feb 13, 2026 20:29 IST

A 58-year-old mid-day meal worker was brutally murdered inside a government primary school in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district in broad daylight,

The incident took place on Thursday afternoon at the Government Primary School in Gram Panchayat Chanour, under the Dehra area. The victim, identified as Sulochana Devi, wife of Vishambhar Das and a resident of Chanour, was preparing the mid-day meal in the school kitchen around 12:20 pm when the accused allegedly attacked her with a sickle.

Police identified the accused as 48-year-old Rakesh Kumar, a resident of the same village. According to officials, he entered the school premises and attacked Sulochana Devi in the kitchen area while students were present on campus.

Hearing the children’s screams, teachers rushed from their classrooms and found Kumar holding a sharp-edged weapon while Sulochona lay in a pool of blood. The teachers immediately secured the students inside classrooms to ensure their safety and asked the accused to leave. When he allegedly threatened them, teachers from a nearby senior secondary school in Chanour reached the spot and pelted stones at him, forcing him to flee.

Police arrested the accused within 30 minutes of the incident. They recovered the weapon used in the crime and registered a murder case under Section 103 of the BNS Act. Officers said they are investigating the motive behind the attack.

Sulochana Devi was rushed to a nearby community health centre, where doctors declared her dead. After the post-mortem examination, authorities handed over her body to the family.

DSP Rajkumar of Dadasiba confirmed the incident, while Superintendent of Police (SP) of police district Dehra Mayank Chaudhary said the police are meticulously collecting and preserving all physical, documentary and scientific evidence. He added that investigators are conducting a thorough, impartial and fact-based probe and will proceed further in accordance with the law.

Police produced the accused before a court in Kangra on Friday, which remanded him to five days of police custody. He will be presented again before the court on February 17.

The incident sparked outrage among parents and villagers, who raised concerns about the safety of children inside school premises. Following the incident, Education Minister Rohit Thakur directed the education department to immediately review and strengthen security arrangements in all schools across the state to safeguard students, teachers, mid-day meal workers and supporting staff, and to prevent such incidents in the future.

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