In Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, a 12-year-old girl reportedly took her own life by hanging herself at home, reports PTI. The student accused a teacher of harassment in her suicide letter.
According to the City Superintendent of Police (Ambikapur) Smruthik Rajnala, the accused teacher was apprehended on Wednesday, February 7, following the discovery of a suicide note in the victim's room.
The victim, a Class VI student at a private school, was discovered hanging from the ceiling in her residence in the Darripara area under Manipur police station limits late Tuesday night, Rajnala told PTI. The suicide note found at the scene contained accusations of harassment against the teacher, he added
"A forensic team collected evidence from the spot and the post-mortem was conducted. Statements of the girl's parents, students and teachers of the school were recorded. The suicide note was examined by a handwriting expert," said the Superintendent, states the PTI report.
Based on the findings of the investigation, the teacher was charged under Section 305 of the Indian Penal Code, which pertains to the abetment of suicide of a child. The inquiry into the matter is ongoing.
In the suicide note, written in English and dated February 6, the girl detailed the alleged confiscation of ID cards belonging to her and two friends by the teacher.
"My friends told me that she is dangerous and she (will) take you to headmistress and also call your parents. I was scared and decided to kill myself," she wrote, while holding the teacher responsible for the extreme step. The girl also requested that her friends be saved from getting punished.
The father of the deceased, a government official, disclosed that he had spoken with his daughter via video call at 6.30 pm on the evening of the incident but was not made aware of any issues. "She wrote on the suicide note please don't give punishment to my friends," he said and alleged that teachers at the school tortured the students He further alleged a history of mistreatment by teachers at the school, recounting a previous incident when another teacher had reportedly harassed and physically assaulted his daughter.
"My daughter stopped telling me about the harassment as whenever parents visit school to speak to teachers over some issues, the next day teachers take revenge and torture students," he said.
"Please save the students. They are innocent," he added.
