Class 10 Student Dies by Suicide, Leaves Note Accusing Teachers of Harassment (Source: ANI)
A 16-year-old Class 10 student of a known school in central Delhi allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday. The deceased had left a handwritten note accusing his teachers and school headmistress of mentally harassing him. The incident occurred in the afternoon when the teen jumped from an elevated metro station in West Delhi.
During the investigation, police found a note in his schoolbag naming the teachers and headmistress whom he said that they had constantly harrased him.
According to the note, police filed a case against the staff under sections 107 (abetment to suicide) and 3(5) (common intention of criminal act) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The school suspended three staff members and the headmistress with immediate effect on Thursday.
The Delhi government’s Directorate of Education has also formed a five-member inquiry committee, headed by Joint Director Harshit Jain. The committee has been asked to submit its findings within three days.
Boy allegedly faced ongoing harassment by his teachers. Family and friends said that the teenager had been experiencing "targeted harassment" over several months. They argued the school missed or failed to act the complaints that the student was having difficulties.
Police are now reviewing CCTV footage from both the school and the metro station. A senior officer said investigators have "spoken to multiple students already and will continue to record statements," as earlier reported by HT.
His father told the sources that his son had reportedly informed to the school counsellor about his emotional struggles. The father added that his son never spoke about these thoughts with the family.
The student's uncle said that his friends shared that he had shared about his suicidal thoughts with the counsellor but she had dismissed it.
A classmate confirmed the claims in the boy's one-and-a-half-page note, saying the student was indeed being bullied by the teachers.
The classmate said, “My friend had told the counsellor about his problems and we were going to lodge a formal complaint with the headmistress in the next two-three days,” though he did not confirm if the boy had told him directly.
The father also remembered a conversation with his son the day before the incident. He said the boy again mentioned being troubled at school. He told him they would transfer him “after the board exams as he was in class 10,” and added that the child had often been threatened with expulsion.
Some students complained that teachers called their parents to school for even minor issues. One said, “They call our parents for minor issues, like when we spill water in the class,” and further accused teachers of using “abusive language openly” in the class.
The father of the boy said he too was called from home with regards to a minor issue three months ago. “They said he talks in class, and I told them that if kids his age wouldn’t then who would.” He added that he had asked teachers not to pressure the boy over marks, saying the parents were comfortable with his academic performance.
CCTV Shows Boy Helping Woman Moments Before Jumping Meanwhile, footage from the metro station showed that the boy helped a woman standing on the platform just shortly before the incident. "The video showed him put his bag down, walk for about two-and-a-half minutes, even helping guide a woman on the platform," said the uncle of the boy. The student then approached a guard and jumped when the guard "briefly looked away".
Also Read: Delhi School Suspends Four Teachers After Class 10 Student’s Suicide, Family Alleges Harassment
