A sixteen-year-old student allegedly committed suicide in Assam's Chirang district for not being able to attend online classes as he did not have a smartphone.

According to reports, the student of Class X, was so troubled as he could not take part in online classes and examinations conducted by his school as he did not have a smartphone.

His family is very poor. He was found dead near his house yesterday night. Sudhakar Singh, Chirang's superintendent of police, said, "The boy's family was very poor. His mother had gone to Bangalore in search of work and his father didn't have any job. The boy needed a smartphone to take part in online classes but his father was not able to get him one." "From what we have been able to gather after talking to neighbours and others close to the student, it appears he was fed up with the situation and decided to take his own life," he added.

The body has been sent for post-mortem and reports are awaited. Due to COVID 19 pandemic, the school and colleges have remained closed since March.

Schools and Colleges since than have started online classes and even exams are being held on online classes over smartphones. The body has been sent for post-mortem and reports are awaited.