Allegedly hounded by his wife and father-in-law over a "false" news report of adultery, a 32-year-old teacher committed suicide by jumping before a train at Chataria village in Sirsa district on Tuesday.
The deceased, Pawan Kumar, a resident of the village, was working as a JBT
(junior basic training) teacher at Government Primary School, Dhani Limba, in the district.
The government railway police (GRP) said they had found a suicide note from Kumar's possession, in which he had accused his wife Rajbala and father-in-law Udhmi Ram of harassing him on the suspicion of adultery.
Gopal Limba, a local resident, had informed mediapersons that a 32-year-old JBT teacher of Government Primary School, Dhani Limba, had been spotted in a compromising position with a woman teacher on the campus on Saturday, following which a report appeared in a Hindi newspaper. Sources said Kumar and the other teacher had claimed that no such incident took place.
A friend of the deceased told Hindustan Times, "Tension escalated when Kumar's wife and father-in-law started grilling him about the report."
A mediaperson contacted by Limba said, "When we enquired from Kumar and the woman teacher about the incident, they denied it. Kumar claimed that Limba nursed a grudge against him over a property dispute."
When contacted, district education officer (elementary) Madhu said, "I have never received any complaint against Kumar."
The GRP said they were probing the matter, adding that the suicide note had no mention of the news item.
Limba could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.