Student,9, was stressed, bullied before she jumped off Jaipur school building: Probe panel

District education officer Ramniwas Sharma, who led the probe panel, said the footage showed five to seven classmates irritating and bullying the girl

The nine-year-old girl, who died after jumping from the fourth floor of her school building in Jaipur on October 1, faced a 40-minute stressful situation in her last class, as she repeatedly complained to the teacher about five to seven classmates to no avail, a probe panel has found. CCTV footage showed the class 4 student jumping from the school building, sparking outrage.

The girl left the class for washroom, but instead went upstairs, and jumped off. (Getty Images)

District education officer Ramniwas Sharma, who led the five-member probe panel, said the footage from the classroom showed five to seven classmates constantly irritating and bullying the girl. “In 40 minutes, she took up the matter at least thrice with the teacher,” said Sharma. He added that her complaints were initially ignored.

Sharma said they could not get audio of the footage, but the visuals showed she was very stressed. “She constantly complained about her classmates, but the teacher was asking her to return to her seat,” said Sharma.

The students bullying her were also seen making counter-complaints. “Thereafter, the teacher was seen standing up and instructing the class to be quiet, asking everyone to return to their seats,” Sharma said.

The panel flagged major violations of the building bylaws. “The school was supposed to have a manager on every floor to watch the movement of the students, which was missing. The height of the building also surpassed the recommended height. They also should have covered the balconies with nets to prevent any such accidents,” said the report, which was submitted to education minister Madan Dilawar’s office on Tuesday.

An official said Dilawar, who is away from Jaipur, will study the report and take necessary action on Thursday. The official cited the absence of audio and said the panel could not probe much into the bullying the girl was subjected to. “Police are investigating the matter, and will also summon the English teacher in whose class the incident happened.”

The girl’s parents claimed there were some sexual connotations to the bullying and that she was unwilling to go to school on the day of her death. “She introduced herself to a boy in the school a few months ago, following which, students started bullying her. On October 10, we also called that boy’s mother and asked him to speak to his son and not to bully her because it was affecting my child’s mental health. We also complained to the school coordinator and the teacher, but there was no suitable response,” said the girl’s mother.

The parents, who have filed a case against the school, said they had planned to change their daughter’s school.

Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. Suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai).