The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Parents blame harassment for daughter's suicide

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Parents blame harassment for daughter's suicide

By Vikram Sharma

HYDERABAD, SEPT.13. Seelam Swathi was good at drawing. Just give her a pencil and paper and she would bring life into whatever she drew. But she did not `like' her maths teacher, so much so that she hated to be in class when he was teaching.

But, then, there were other `small' problems worrying the girl too. Frustrated, she wrote a lengthy note about the problems, but without elaborating on the `small problems,' after which she hanged herself from the ceiling at her house in Neredmet on Saturday. The hastily written note and the words in disarray, perhaps, did show the disturbed state of the girl, but did not reveal all.

Parents still in shock

The shocked parents of Swathi, a class 10 student of Nalanda High school in Neredmet, are yet to come to terms with their bubbly daughter being no more. Swathi resorted to the extreme step after being allegedly reprimanded by her teacher, N.S.V.N.N.Murthy. She was the eldest of three daughters. Her sisters -- Swetha and Swapna -- are also studying in the same school.

A letter purportedly written by Swathi read like this: "He used to scold me if I talked to boys. Even if I turned to my friends during the class, he would pull me up. He used to scold me in front of everyone. I don't like his teaching and just cannot listen to him. I do not like attending school. Please see that no other student resorts to the extreme step like me."

The girl's father Raji Reddy who is into the transport business said that he had approached the school principal and Murthy requesting them not to be harsh to his daughter, as she was a sensitive girl. "She used to tell me about the highhanded behaviour of Murthy, but I never thought things would end this way," he said fighting back tears.

Detailed probe

He said that Murthy was teaching three subjects while the school principal, K.Srinivas, maintained that he was teaching only maths. "He would taunt my daughter when she did not secure good marks and when she did, he said that my daughter had copied from other students," Mr. Reddy alleged.

Meanwhile, the District Education officer, Mallamma, issued orders terminating the services of Murthy. She would submit a preliminary report to the Government and carry out a detailed inquiry into the incident.

School office ransacked

Meanwhile, the school principal maintained that 60-year-old Murthy was a calm person. He said that he was with Nalanda High school for the last two years. "Students like him and even insist that he teach them. Teachers generally ask students to concentrate on studies. Same was the case with Swathi who was an average student," he said.

Agitated over Swathi's death, her family, friends and relatives barged into the school premises on Monday morning and ransacked the office and broke the windowpanes. However, police brought the situation under control. "We did not intend to damage property, but were angry at the school management," one of the protesters said.

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