Tripura student attempts suicide after teachers force him to get ‘rakhi’ tied by fellow student

The principal and two teachers of a CBSE-affiliated school in Agartala have been sent on seven months’ leave from Thursday, two days after a class 12 student attempted suicide in the school premises when the trio allegedly forced him to get a ‘rakhi’ tied by a fellow student, police said.

The director of the school issued a letter on Wednesday evening asking the three teachers to ‘proceed on leave’ till March next year, a person familiar with the developments said. The school was also shut for five days from Thursday due to the uproar over the incident.

On Thursday, the police registered a complaint against the principal and two teachers following a request by the student’s father.

“The complaint has been lodged against the teachers for allegedly forcing the student to attempt suicide. We are in the process of registering a case,” said Prashanta Kumar Dey, in-charge of airport police station.

The 18-year-old student had jumped from the terrace of his school building on Monday after he was forced by two teachers to get a ‘rakhi’ tied from a class 10 girl of the same school with whom he was reportedly having an “affair”, police said.

Police quoted the school principal as saying that both students were seen together many times and the teachers told them to refrain from such activity as it was not the right age for having an “affair”.

“They were advised to concentrate on their career many times by the teachers, but they did not pay heed to it. The boy also had behavioural issues since the last one year,” the principal said.

When confronted by his teachers, the boy denied the “affair” and that’s when the teachers allegedly asked the girl to tie a rakhi on his wrist, added the principal.

The boy’s father claimed that they were summoned to the school by the management and asked to take his transfer certificate and get him admitted in another school. This forced the boy to attempt suicide.

The boy is currently admitted at in a hospital where he is recuperating.

“His condition is much better now. He will have to undergo a psychiatric test to see if he is in trauma,” said a doctor in the hospital.

Student organizations in the state have demanded suspension and arrests of the three teachers.

First Published: Aug 30, 2018 20:33 IST