The Class 6 student of a school in Lucknow, who is accused of stabbing a junior last week, on Monday accused the educational institution of framing her in the case, ANI reported. On January 19, she was released on interim bail from the juvenile home she was lodged at.

The accused claimed she had never met the victim. “There had been some arguments between me, my father and a few teachers. I suspect that is the reason I am being framed,” Hindustan Times quoted her as saying.

“A photo of mine was produced before him. I was told by the school management that he has identified me,” she added. “I have had short hair since November but they say he identified me in my old pictures.”

Her family has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the matter. Her lawyer and her father also raised doubts about the school’s delay in reporting the incident to the police.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath visited the boy in hospital on January 18, while dozens of parents gathered outside the school in the city’s Triveni Nagar locality to protest against the incident – similar to the murder of a Gurugram school student in September 2017.

The boy told his parents he was attacked by a girl with a “boy-cut hair style”, who took him to the bathroom on the second floor when he was on his way to attend the morning assembly. He said she locked him inside and left.

School authorities said the incident came to light when the discipline in-charge, during his morning rounds, heard the boy screaming. The boy later told the police that he had asked the girl why she was attacking him. “She told me she wanted the school to close early,” he said.