A 17-year-old Class 12 student died by suicide at her home in Vaishali, days after she allegedly faced bullying, humiliation, social exclusion and threats from a classmate and his family, according to TOI. Police have registered an FIR against the classmate, his parents and his brother for alleged abetment of suicide.
The girl studied at a private English-medium school in Delhi’s Anand Vihar. She was found dead in her room on August 24. No suicide note was recovered, and her parents initially did not approach the police.
The family later examined her mobile phone and WhatsApp conversations and allegedly found messages and exchanges involving a classmate. The girl had stopped attending school three days before her death, but her parents were reportedly unaware of the alleged harassment at the time.
Father approaches police after school meeting
On Saturday, the girl’s father approached the police, alleging that his daughter had been subjected to “bullying, social exclusion, abuse, humiliation and harassment”.
The complaint came after a September 7 meeting with the school principal, during which the father sought the management’s help in establishing what had happened before his daughter’s death. The principal allegedly gave him a pen drive containing videos connected to the episode.
The father referred to one video that purportedly showed the classmate and his parents speaking with the girl over a call.
According to the complaint, the boy was allegedly seen and heard misbehaving with the girl, pressuring her to apologise to his parents over an earlier incident and threatening to “teach her a lesson” and harm her family if she did not comply.
The father alleged that the exchange reflected “considerable pressure, intimidation and mental harassment”.
The classmate’s brother allegedly recorded the video.
Police examine WhatsApp chats and videos
Police said the audio recordings, videos and WhatsApp chats examined so far indicated that the girl had earlier distanced herself from the accused student and joined another group.
The classmate allegedly insulted her in front of other students after the change.
Police further alleged that he later posted obscene remarks about the girl in the school’s WhatsApp group, after which she stopped attending classes.
Dispute allegedly began over WhatsApp video
According to police, the conflict between the two students stemmed from a video in which the girl was allegedly heard using “inappropriate” words about the classmate’s mother.
Suryabali Maurya, ACP (Indirapuram), said the video was posted in the school’s WhatsApp group, following which the classmate confronted the girl and demanded an apology while involving his parents.
“The video was uploaded on the school’s WhatsApp group. It was then that her classmate confronted her on WhatsApp and demanded an apology, involving his parents. The conversation and video was recorded by the suspect’s brother and later sent to the school WhatsApp group,” Maurya said, according to TOI.
FIR registered under BNS section 108
Police have registered an FIR against the student, his parents and his brother under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for alleged abetment of suicide.
Maurya said the investigation would be based on the available evidence and that police would question more students and record statements from several people, including teachers.
“The case is being investigated on the basis of evidence. Soon, we will speak to other classmates as well. Statements of several people, including teachers at the school, will be recorded too. After that, further action will be taken,” Maurya said, according to TOI.
Disclaimer: If you or someone you know is having thoughts of self-harm, please seek help immediately. You can find resources in India here.https://findahelpline.com/countries/in/topics/suicidal-thoughts
