CALCUTTA, India – A 14-year-old school boy in eastern India has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a younger student who refused to give him her iPod, police said Tuesday.
The boy allegedly pushed the 10-year-old girl off a 30-foot bridge then climbed down and strangled her unconscious body on Monday, said Swapan Banerjee, the officer in charge of the local police station in Seuri, a town in West Bengal state.
"It was a murder with intention. He murdered her in anger because she refused to part with the gadget," Banerjee said.
A recent boom in India's economy has brought benefits to millions of middle-class Indians, but has simultaneously exposed simmering discontents as socio-economic inequalities soar and aspirations rise.
"We were always worried about students bringing such gadgets to the school," said Tanmay Ghosh, the headmaster of the school that both children attended. "We have issued several notices and given enough warnings asking them not to bring iPods and cell phones to class."
The boy, who tried to hide the body behind a bush, was arrested, Banerjee said. If convicted of murder, the boy could be sent to a juvenile detention center for up to 10 years.
There was no immediate comment from the boy's family, the police said.
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