From murder of Hindu student by minor Muslim accused to government takeover: The full story of Ahmedabad’s Seventh Day School, as exposed by OpIndia

Seventh Day Adventist High Secondary School in Ahmedabad’s Khokhra Maninagar area has been at the centre of controversy for the past few months. The school is part of the global educational network of the US-based Seventh-day Adventist Church and is managed by local trusts and other organisations. In August 2025, the school was embroiled in a controversy following the brutal murder of a Hindu student by a Muslim minor student. The incident exposed administrative lapse at the school and brought to light some past incidents involving allegations of religious conversion and administrative irregularities.

After the killing of the Hindu student, a committee was formed to conduct a detailed investigation. Following the investigation, the committee submitted a report to the District Education Officer (DEO). Ultimately, on December 15, 2025, the Gujarat government assumed control of the school’s administration. From now on, the school will be run by the government. The DEO will manage the school as the government’s representative. However, several conditions and regulations are attached to this takeover. Let’s examine the entire sequence of events.

A Hindu student brutally murdered at the school

Seventh Day Adventist High Secondary School is a popular school in the Ahmedabad area, but it gained national attention after the murder of a Hindu student in August. On August 19, 2025, after school, a Hindu student, studying in Class 10, was attacked by a minro Muslim student, studying in Class 8, with a sharp weapon, resulting in the Hindu student’s death. The attack stemmed from a minor dispute between the victim and the attacker. However, there were also indications of a pre-planned conspiracy.

After the attack, the blood-soaked Hindu student was not rushed to the hospital by the school administration. His family and friends took him to the hospital in a rickshaw. He succumbed to his injuries on 20th August. The school administration was accused of not calling an ambulance immediately or making any attempt to take the child to the hospital. Moreover, the school administration tried to destroy evidence by cleaning up the bloodstains.

The accused’s Instagram chat went viral

Immediately after the incident, the Instagram chat of the accused went viral on social media. The chats of the accused showed thathe admitted to killing the Hindu student and showed no remorse or fear. “Yes…so what?…” and “Now stop…what’s done is done,” the accused said in the chat. His friend advised him to delete the chat. The police took the accused, who considered the notorious criminal Pablo Escobar his role model, into custody under the Juvenile Justice Act. His bail application was rejected.

OpIndia provided comprehensive on-the-spot coverage of the incident. The deceased student’s grandfather and classmates told OpIndia that there had been past incidents of bullying, threats, and even the feeding of meat by Muslim students to Hindu students at the school, but the school ignored the complaints and took no action.

Widespread Protests and Initial Investigation

Following the incident, parents of the victim and other students, people from the Sindhi community, and Hindu organisations protested outside the school. On August 23, the Jan Akrosh Mandal Sangharsh Samiti paid a tribute to the deceased student in front of the school. Thousands of people, including leaders of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, paid tribute to the Hindu student. The Samiti released a helpline number and appealed to other victims of similar incidents to register their complaints. Following appeals from Hindu organisations, several areas of Ahmedabad observed a bandh (strike) in protest against the incident.

The school was closed after the incident, and students began attending classes online. Parents raised questions about the school’s affiliation with a foreign church and the allegations of forced conversions. The Jan Akrosh Mandal Sangharsh Samiti submitted a petition to the DEO, the mayor, and the AMC, demanding the cancellation of the school’s recognition and lease. Meanwhile, the parents of approximately 160 students requested transfer certificates.

District Education Officer (DEO) Rohit Chaudhary dismissed the school principal, G. Emmanuel, administrator Mayurika Patel, and other staff members, holding them responsible for gross negligence. The DEO issued several notices to the school and demanded various documents, including building use permission, minority status certificate, and trust clarification. Additionally, an inquiry committee was constituted under the Right to Education (RTE) Act and tasked with investigating the school.

Investigation and Proceedings

The inquiry officer issued several notices to the school and ordered the suspension of staff members, including Principal G. Emmanuel and administrative head Mayurika Patel, for allowing the injured student to remain unattended for an extended period and for obstructing the investigation. The school administration filed a petition in the High Court against the inquiry officer’s order, but the court reprimanded it and ordered it to cooperate with the investigation.

Following this incident, the inquiry committee constituted under the RTE Act submitted its report in October 2025, revealing serious irregularities. The school was operating illegally – it lacked permission to increase the number of classes, there were discrepancies in the trust (inconsistencies between the Ashlock Trust, Council of Seventh Day Adventist Educational Institute, and the India Financial Association), it did not possess a minority status certificate for the primary section, and the building use permission was also incomplete. In addition to that, the school was operating in two shifts, which was not permitted.

Furthermore, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had leased the school land for 99 years in 2003, but the lease terms were violated as the school was being operated by a different entity. Consequently, the AMC also initiated the process of cancelling the lease and issued a notice to the school.

Foreign Connections and Past Controversies

OpIndia’s in-depth investigation into this matter revealed several details about the school. The Seventh-day Adventist Higher Secondary School was run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, headquartered in Maryland, USA. This organisation operates over 7,800 educational institutions globally, and its values ​​are based on Christian beliefs.

The school in Ahmedabad started on a small scale in 1979 and was shifted to its current premises in 2003. It is affiliated with the CISCE and the Gujarat Board and is led by Christian figures such as Principal G. Emmanuel. Locally, it is managed by various entities such as the Ashlock Trust, the Council of Seventh-day Adventist Educational Institutions, and the India Financial Association, all of which have been found to have irregularities.

The school also faced serious allegations of religious conversion. Parents and locals told OpIndia that Christianity was propagated in moral science classes at the school, and students were encouraged to convert. It was also alleged that some students were promoted to the next class without taking exams in exchange for ₹2 lakh. The school is alleged to have been constructed on land that previously belonged to a temple.

In 2016, a student, studying in Class 4, was severely beaten by teacher Moses Adla, resulting in injuries and bleeding. The teacher was subsequently suspended. The school was again embroiled in a controversy in October 2024, after the school administration took around 200 students on a trip without permission from the DEO. The trip was in clear violation of government rules. The District Education Office took cognisance of the incident and issued a legal notice to the school administration, and also complained to the police. Recently, there were allegations that Muslim students fed Hindu students mutton, claiming it was paneer, but no action was taken.

The school taken over by the government

Parents and locals had been consistently demanding that the government take over the management of the school due to its controversial activities. Taking into account the findings of the recent investigations and discovered irregularities, the Gujarat government took over the administration of the school on December 15, 2025. The District Education Officer of Ahmedabad has been appointed as the administrator. New admissions to the school have been stopped, and the school has been allowed to continue operating to protect the interests of more than 10,000 students enrolled there.