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Papa, I brought you shame: Teen in video before jumping into river
KOTA: A 16-year-old student allegedly committed suicide in Rajasthan’s Kota moments after shooting a video-message for his parents, in which he expressed guilt for
KOTA: A 16-year-old student allegedly committed suicide in Rajasthan’s Kota moments after shooting a video-message for his parents, in which he expressed guilt for “failing” to live up to their expectations, police said on Friday.
Aman Kumar Gupta, who hailed from Bihar, jumped into the Chambal river from an under-construction bridge on Thursday, police official Ramnath Singh said. He is the 14th student to commit suicide in Kota this year.
Aman was a student of one of the city’s coaching institutes, famous for preparing youngsters for the highly-competitive entrance examinations for different professional courses.
The coaching institutes have come under the scanner after a number of students committed suicide due to study-related stress and burden of family expectations.
In the 11.14-minute clip shot on his mobile, Aman says he wanted to go ahead in life but would not be able to do so now. “Papa always supported me but I brought shame to him in class 10th and (a) complaint was even made to the school principal then,” Aman is heard saying in the shaky video shot against what appeared to be a concrete wall. The mobile phone was recovered from the spot later.
Attempting to hide his tears, an emotional Aman called upon his parents to forgive him and pursue the education of his younger brother, whom he referred to as ‘Chhotu’, without keeping him away from them.
Experts say staying away from parents for a long period of time also takes a toll on the mental health of students studying in Kota, situated around 250km from state capital Jaipur.
“Everyone at the coaching institute and my friends helped me but I am not been able to do it right,” he said, adding that his friends also used to tell him that he would not improve.
“Do not cry for me and I am committing suicide without any reason as I do not want to live,” he is heard saying in clip.
A Kota City police official said Aman hailed from Raghopur in Bihar’s Vaishali district, around 67km north of capital Patna.
He had arrived to Kota about six months ago to join a medical entrance examination coaching institute. His father is a teacher in Bihar.
An official of the coaching institute said Aman was an above average student when he joined but his performance had fallen in recent times.
Every year, more than 1.5 lakh student from across the country enrol in the 40-odd coaching institutes to prepare for different entrance examinations.
Recently, several coaching institutes jointly launched a round-the-clock helpline to offer counselling, track callers suffering from depression and provide assistance.
