(If you feel suicidal or know someone in distress, please reach out to them with kindness and call these numbers of local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs.)
A 17-year-old Class 12 student, who died by suicide in Tamil Nadu’s Karur district on the night of Friday, 19 November, has alleged in her alleged suicide note that she was sexually harassed. The police retrieved a purported suicide note from the deceased girl’s home.
According to police, the minor girl, who was studying at a private school, had attended classes on Friday and returned home, where she is said to have been alone. As she was not seen outside for a long time, an elderly woman from the adjacent house came looking for the girl. As the girl did not answer the door after the elderly woman called her several times, she telephoned the minor girl’s mother, said the police.
This is the second case of a minor’s death by suicide related to sexual abuse allegations that has emerged from Tamil Nadu in less than two weeks.
A 17-year-old girl who was studying has Chinmaya Vidyalaya Hospital in Coimbatore died by suicide on 11 November, and had alleged she was sexually abused by a school teacher. The police have arrested the accused teacher, 31-year-old Mithun Chakravarthy, and the school principal for allegedly knowing about the sexual assault and not acting on the girl’s complaint.
In the Karur incident, the police registered a case on Friday and sent the body for autopsy to Karur Government Medical College and Hospital. And through the investigation, the police found the alleged suicide note. In the note, the girl also reportedly wrote that she was afraid of revealing the identity of the person (her alleged harasser) who had “pushed” her “to take this decision.”
Speaking to TNM, Karur Superintendent of Police P Sundaravadivel said, “We have registered a case and begun the investigation. The family of the deceased did not place any allegation. The deceased girl has also not mentioned anyone’s name in the suicide note. We are conducting an investigation into all possible angles.”
The body has been handed over to the family after autopsy on Saturday.
(With inputs from The News Minute)
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