Kin blame punishment for suicide of F’bad teen

A 16-year-old Class 11 student allegedly died by suicide after jumping from the third-floor terrace of her school building in Faridabad on Tuesday, police said

A 16-year-old Class 11 student allegedly died by suicide after jumping from the third-floor terrace of her school building in Faridabad on Tuesday, police said. While her family alleged that she took the step after being made to stand in the sun for several hours as punishment, the school has denied the allegation.

According to police, the incident took place around 1.30pm inside the school, after classes had ended.

According to police, the incident took place around 1.30pm at Navodaya Vidya Niketan Senior Secondary School on Dabua-Gazipur Road, after classes had ended. The girl went to the third-floor terrace as students were leaving the school and jumped.

School staff rushed her to Badshah Khan Civil Hospital, where she was declared dead from injuries sustained in the fall, police said.

Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of Faridabad police, said the father has alleged that the 16-year-old was “punished by a teacher and made to stand in the sun for four hours after which she took the extreme step”.

The allegations are being verified and a case will be registered after the father submits a formal complaint, he said. “Police are already quizzing the school authorities and scanning CCTV camera footage for clues looking at the sensitivity of the case.”

“She had gone to the bathroom accompanied by a female non-teaching staff member. However, after leaving the bathroom, she went to the terrace and jumped to the ground all of a sudden. We don’t know why she took such a step,” he said.

She was first taken to a private hospital near the school for treatment, but doctors there asked them to take her to the civil hospital as it was a police case. “At the civil hospital, she was declared dead,” he said, adding that the school administration is cooperating with the police investigation.

Speaking to HT, the minor girl’s father said he had reached out to his daughter’s classmates for information. They told him that his daughter had been punished earlier in the day.

“One of the female teachers in the school had punished her by making her stand in the sun for at least four hours because some students had created some ruckus in class,” he alleged. “My daughter was not involved in it. Even then the teacher punished her, instead of taking action against those who were actually involved.”

He said that the school administration should have called him instead of giving such a harsh punishment to her daughter. “The school is responsible for her death. They alerted me about the incident almost after an hour’s delay,” he added, saying he had received a call from the school about the incident at 2.30pm.

Her behaviour was completely normal in the morning before she left for school, he added. His younger son also studies in the same school.

This comes after a Class 4 student allegedly died by suicide at a private school in Jaipur, Rajasthan, in November last year. Her family had alleged that she was being bullied and no action was taken by teachers and the school administration even after it was flagged.