Pune: 15-year-old boy commits suicide for getting new phone

Due to his mother’s refusal to let him get a new phone, a 15-year-old boy committed suicide on Thursday in Baramati, Pune.

The boy, who was in Class 9, reportedly wanted to get a new phone for online studies, but his mother refused, and this made the child unhappy, so he decided to commit suicide. When he was home alone, he took a drastic step.

Arun Avchar, police inspector, Malegaon police station, said, “Prima facie, it appears that the child wanted a new phone and his mother refused. The neighbours and family members informed the Malegaon police about the incident. We reached the spot and sent his body for a post-mortem.”

A teacher from the child’s school said, “The boy died by suicide after school hours. His behaviour was normal. We had told him that there was no need for a new phone as offline classes have started, but he was not ready to listen.”

Malegaon police station has started an investigation and filed a case.

(A Pune-based non-profit organisation called Connecting strives to prevent suicide by offering help to those who are experiencing emotional distress by utilising the philosophy of mindfulness-based active listening. The toll-free hotlines are 1800-209-4353 and 9922001122, which are open daily from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Walk-in hours are Monday through Saturday from 12 to 5. Using Gmail to connect with an NGO.)