Harassment by Teachers Allegedly Led to Kerala Teen’s Suicide
Gauri had been on ventilator support for the last three days after jumping off the third floor of her school.
A teenager in Kerala who had been battling for life at Thiruvananthapuram’s Ananthapuri hospital after she jumped off the third floor of her school building on Friday, died on Monday morning.
Gauri, 15, who took the extreme step after being allegedly harassed by her teachers, had been on ventilator support for the last three days and her condition had become critical.
Gauri was a student at Trinity Lyceum school at Thanagassery in Kollam, and was allegedly chided by her teachers after she had a fight with her sister’s classmate.
As per reports, Gauri’s younger sister was studying in class 8 and some of the teachers had taken disciplinary action against her after she spoke during class. She (Gauri’s sister) was made to sit with boys as she repeated the ‘mistake’.
Citing this, some of her classmates taunted her in public. After she complained about this to her elder sister Gauri, the fight began. It was also reported that teachers reprimanded Gauri and warned her of disciplinary action, and that she would not be allowed to write her exams.
A case was filed against two teachers at the school – Sindhu and Crescent – under section 305 of IPC, for abetment to suicide of a child.
“It is 100% true. They didn’t even allow her to eat her lunch. From the information we got, she was taken from the dining room, and her food was left open there when it happened. They had even told her earlier that she won’t be allowed to write the Board exams,” the girl’s uncle Prakash had earlier told The News Minute.
Police were not able to record the victim’s statement but had taken her father’s statement.
(This article was originally published in The News Minute)
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