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14 K’taka school girls self-harm, puzzled officials refer case to psychiatrists
The girls gave different explanations for injuring themselves, providing various often seemingly trivial reasons for their actions
As many as 14 girl students from grades nine and 10 of a private school in Dandeli in Karwar district of Karnataka slashed their left hands on Saturday, officials said, adding neither parents nor teachers have found a plausible explanation for the collective self-harm.
The district administration referred the case to psychiatrists on Tuesday after the minor students did not disclose the reasons for injuring themselves. Psychiatrists are expected to provide counselling and support to the group who have been found to be emotionally distressed.
Teachers and parents said they did not reprimand the girls, a preliminary probe by the police and education department found.
The students enrolled in a private Kannada medium school appear to have cut themselves after school hours on Saturday afternoon. The school usually concludes by afternoon on Saturdays.
A school official, who didn’t wish to be named, said worried parents called the school after the girls returned home with sharp cut marks on their hands.
The parents were understandably distressed as their daughters provided various, seemingly unrelated reasons for the self-inflicted wounds, the school official said.
School authorities contacted the police who, in turn, reached out to the office of district deputy director of public instruction (DDPI) office in Karwar.
Each student in the group had blade injuries on their left hand, a few centimetres above the wrists.
“Some girls had 14 to 15 cuts, using razor blades typically used for shaving,” Sirsi DDPI Paari Basavaraj said without elaborating.
The minors were treated at a government health centre in Dandeli and are now out of danger.
The girls gave different explanations when questioned by officials from the block education office (BEO) in Dandeli and the deputy director of primary and secondary education (DDPSE) in Karwar.
Inspector Bhimanna Suri of the Dandeli Police Circle, who is investigating the case, said the students had provided various, often seemingly, trivial reasons for their actions.
“One girl claimed she had harmed herself out of guilt for using offensive language toward her mother, a claim her mother corroborated. Another girl cited her inability to cope with her uncle’s recent death as the reason for her actions. Yet another girl mentioned that she had self-harmed because a classmate had stopped speaking to her, and the classmate had done the same,” the police officer said.
.“A meeting had been convened involving the police, education, and health departments. As initial inquiries did not yield conclusive results, the case has now been referred to psychiatric professionals. But we can assure that all students are safe,” Karwar superintendent of police Vishnuvardhan said.
Basavaraj said initial investigations indicated that many among the students could be grappling with domestic problems.
“I have instructed the Dandeli Block Education Officer to begin recording the statements of the girls in writing from Wednesday,” he said.
Dr Katte, the Head of the Psychiatric Department at Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS), said that girls of this age are highly sensitive and emotional. They often emulate their peers’ behaviour when they perceive trouble or problems among their friends.
