The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Schoolboy ends life, management shrugs it off

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 09, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Schoolboy ends life, management shrugs it off

Staff Reporter

Boy cites harassemnt by teacher and classmates in his note

Dharshan S.

BANGALORE: A 15-year-old schoolboy studying in ninth standard committed suicide at his house in Indiranagar police station limits on Wednesday night because he was allegedly harassed and humiliated by a teacher and some of his classmates.

The police gave his name as Darshan, a student of Oxford Public School in New Thippasandra.

He was son of D. Shekar, a building contractor and resident of 2nd Cross, 2nd Main, Old Thippasandra.

After returning home from the school on Wednesday evening, Darshan had a glass of milk, biscuits and an egg. Around 5.30 p.m., he went to his study room and latched the door from inside.

Around 8.15 p.m., his elder brother Devaraj called him for dinner.

When he did not respond, Devaraj peeped through a window and found Darshan's body hanging from a ceiling fan.

His family members broke open the door and rushed Darshan to a private hospital on C.M.H. Road. He was declared brought dead by the doctors, the police said.

Darshan had left a note, written on a page torn from an exercise book, stating that he was committing suicide as one of his teachers and some classmates had harassed and humiliated him, the police said.

On Wednesday, Darshan's classmate reportedly complained to a teacher that he had "misbehaved" with her. The teacher reportedly scolded Darshan in the classroom and warned him.

The teacher brought Darshan's behaviour to the notice of his parents by mentioning it in his school dairy.

Darshan had mentioned the names of the girl and the teacher in the suicide note, the police said.

Following Darshan's death, his relatives went to the school on Thursday and sought an explanation from the Principal on the behaviour of the teacher. There were heated exchanges between them and the school authorities, the police said.

Principal M.C. Thomas refused to comment on the matter.

He said the school was not responsible for the incident that had taken place at the boy's residence.

Devaraj claimed that the school authorities were discriminating between boys and girls and his brother had committed suicide unable to tolerate humiliation.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Bijay Kumar Singh told The Hindu that although the Indiranagar police had registered a case of unnatural death, they had not taken action against any one. "We cannot initiate action on the basis of what the 15-year-old has written in the note," he said.

Meanwhile, the school suspended classes for the ninth standard on Thursday to mourn Darshan's death.

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