Delhi school suicide: 5 friends questioned, CCTV record taken as probe begins
Delhi Police are investigating the suicide of a Class 10 student, reportedly due to teacher harassment, and have suspended four staff members.
Three days after a Class 10 student from central Delhi’s St Columba’s School jumped to his death from a Metro station, allegedly after sustained harassment by teachers, Delhi Police said they have identified five of the boy’s friends and begun questioning them and their families in connection with the case.
Of the five boys being examined as witnesses, three classmates – named in the FIR filed on the basis of the father’s complaint – were the first to tell the family that the 16-year-old had been “picked on” repeatedly in the last four days by three teachers and the headmistress.An investigatorfamiliar with their statements said they present a uniform narrative: that this particular group of friends felt targetted, intimidated and routinely humiliated by the staff members in question.
Some incidents, investigators said, also appear to be corroborated by CCTV footage. In at least one recording, a police officer said, a teacher is “seen humiliating him in front of other kids”. Officers said these moments are being closely studied to understand the sequence of events leading up to the boy’s final hours.
The teenager died on Tuesday afternoon after jumping from an elevated Metro station in west Delhi. In his school bag, officers recovered a handwritten note in which he expressed despair and directly named the three teachers and the headmistress, accusing them of repeated humiliation, threats and unfair treatment.
{{/usCountry}}The teenager died on Tuesday afternoon after jumping from an elevated Metro station in west Delhi. In his school bag, officers recovered a handwritten note in which he expressed despair and directly named the three teachers and the headmistress, accusing them of repeated humiliation, threats and unfair treatment.
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday, the school suspended the four staffers after police booked them under sections 107 (abetment to suicide) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday, the school suspended the four staffers after police booked them under sections 107 (abetment to suicide) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
{{/usCountry}}Senior officers said they began the probe by tracing the three classmates named in the FIR and recording their statements in the presence of their families.
{{/usCountry}}Senior officers said they began the probe by tracing the three classmates named in the FIR and recording their statements in the presence of their families.
{{/usCountry}}“We first started with the three students, and later identified two more close friends. All five are being questioned as witnesses. We are asking them about the day of the incident, what occurred during the drama class, and about the general pattern of behaviour by the teachers,” said a senior investigator. “So far, their accounts align. They said their friend group was picked on by these teachers. We are looking into allegations of harassment and bullying.”
{{/usCountry}}“We first started with the three students, and later identified two more close friends. All five are being questioned as witnesses. We are asking them about the day of the incident, what occurred during the drama class, and about the general pattern of behaviour by the teachers,” said a senior investigator. “So far, their accounts align. They said their friend group was picked on by these teachers. We are looking into allegations of harassment and bullying.”
{{/usCountry}}According to the FIR, which HT has accessed, the boy told his friends that he had been threatened with expulsion and shoved by one teacher. Another teacher allegedly accused him of “overacting” and creating “drama” – remarks that one of the officers cited above said links to his refusal to participate in a dance rehearsal because of an ankle sprain.
Police have also retrieved CCTV footage covering November 11 to 18 from inside and around the school. “The allegation is that the harassment continued over the last week. So, we began from November 11. On the day of the incident, the boy was seen being harassed in drama class by two of the accused teachers. The recording is with us. The teachers are seen humiliating him,” said another officer.
The first officer said all four staff members, including the headmistress, will be summoned this weekend. “We questioned the children first to establish the allegations. Now the teachers and headmistress will be cross-questioned. Many children have made similar claims. We have to verify what happened and what may have triggered the boy to take such an extreme step.”
Early accounts from students suggest a pattern of persistent scolding and disproportionate punishment directed at the boy and his friends. Officers said several students described routine reprimands for “petty issues” such as speaking in class or interacting with each other. “We have been told he was often blamed for others’ mistakes and rarely allowed to explain himself. That discouraged him further. He spoke only to one school counsellor,” said the second officer.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also taken cognisance of the death and demanded an action taken report from the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) and district magistrate (DM) of Central Delhi within 10 days.
“The complainant alleged that a Class 10 student committed suicide on November 17 at Rajendra Place metro station, due to continuous mental harassment and discriminatory treatment by teachers of a reputed school in Lutyens’ Delhi. The complainant further alleged that several teachers, including the principal, routinely mocked, humiliated, and threatened the student, creating an environment of fear and trauma. The complainant also alleged that several former students and parents have shared similar experiences of mental harassment, segregation, negative comparisons,and long-lasting trauma. The complaints were ignored, and no counselling or child protection measures were provided, amounting to violations of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Right to Education (Violations of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory) Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and child safety norms,” the NHRC statement mentioned.
Police said questioning will continue over the weekend, and more students may be called if required.
HT attempted to reach the St Columba’s principal through phone and email but received no response. Queries sent to the Edmund Rice Organisation, which runs the school, also went unanswered.
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