Uttar Pradesh: Class XI student dies by suicide; school principal, staff booked

The principal and staff of a school in Uttar Pradesh have landed in trouble after a Class XI student died by suicide. The girl's father alleged that she was harassed by her teachers and falsely accused of copying in an exam she was attending. A case was filed based on this complaint and police have booked the school authorities for abetment to suicide.

In his complaint, the girl's father stated that he got a call from a female teacher at his daughter's school. "The teacher said that my daughter was caught copying and asked me to visit the school in Sarvodaya Nagar," he said, as mentioned in a report by IANS.

Employed at the UP Police's Radio Wireless department, the parent said that he could not go to the school, as the DGP was to visit the radio headquarters. Thus, he asked his wife to go instead. However, "My wife was not allowed to enter the school and was told that all students had left," the girl's father said. 

When he went home for lunch, his worried wife told him that their daughter was not found at the school. "I immediately reached the school and found my daughter sitting on a stool and taking the exam all alone. I tried to console her, but a staff member stopped me and told me to meet the principal. The principal humiliated me for not paying attention to my daughter's studies and made us sit for over 50 minutes at a separate place," the complaint says.

He alleged his daughter was mentally and physically tortured by the principal, class teacher and other staff. Though he tried to console her, she ended her life following the torture. SHO Mahanagar, KK Tiwari said, "The girl locked herself in a room. When her parents got no response on knocking on the door, they broke it open to find her hanging."

On the other hand, school Director Nirmal Tandon stated that the girl was a Commerce student and was taking her English exam when caught copying. "We did not scold her; rather counselled her and her parents. All is recorded in CCTVs which we have shared with police," she said.

DCP Central Zone, Aparna Rajat Kaushik said, "The girl had never been scolded by the teachers. We will probe the sequence of events and check the CCTVs." As per another report by ANI, the investigation is underway.