11-year-old beaten to death at Lucknow gurukul; operator, associate arrested

UP assembly speaker Satish Mahana visited the victim’s village in Kanpur and met the grieving family, describing the killing as heinous.

Mishra said the full CCTV footage would vindicate him and that his lawyer would present the facts; he showed no visible remorse when questioned by reporters.

Mishra was produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody; Harshita Soni was remanded to jail.

Authorities found the gurukul was operating from a rented house in Lucknow with eight to nine students enrolled.

An FIR was registered under relevant sections; Mishra and Soni were arrested and a case was launched.

Mishra reportedly admitted to the assault during police interrogation.

Police recovered smashed CCTV cameras, a DVR, and the stick allegedly used in the assault; the two were accused of destroying evidence.

Harshita Soni, 23, Mishra's girlfriend, was arrested for allegedly helping destroy evidence in the case.

Saurabh Mishra, 27, operator of the gurukul in Lucknow (alias Kanhaiya), was arrested in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, and brought to Kanpur.

Divyansh died at the gurukul in the morning after three days of alleged abuse. Relatives counted 40 to 45 serious injury marks and signs that his hands and legs bore restraints. The final night of beating was reported to have left him unconscious the next morning.

The family had spoken with Divyansh on Wednesday evening (April 22) when he called his sister, before his death the following day.

Divyansh, an 11-year-old boy from Gauriya village in Kanpur, was enrolled by his father Narendra Tripathi at Ramanuj Bhagwat Ved Vidya peeth Gurukul in Lucknow, which was described as offering free Vedic education.