New Delhi: A massive protest erupted after a 16-year-old Class 10 student died by suicide at Rajendra Place Metro Station in Delhi, leaving behind a note accusing his teacher of harassment and urging action.
The boy, who left home for school on November 18, while his father was away, was later found dead at the station.
Police recovered his school bag, inside which was a note claiming he had been driven to take this extreme step because of alleged mistreatment at school.
The news of his death triggered widespread anger as parents and students gathered outside the school, demanding accountability and strict action against those named in the allegations.
Police have said they are examining the contents of the suicide note as well as the claims outlined in the FIR, and the investigation remains underway.
Parents who arrived at the school said some teachers routinely “misbehave” with students, creating a climate of fear.
A parent told IANS, “My child has also been studying in this school for the last two years. Students here are afraid to talk to their teachers. When my child comes home, and I ask him sometimes why he is afraid, he says that he is afraid of even telling those things to me, as he thinks I’ll scold him just like the teachers. Because of some teachers here, there is a lot of fear inside the children and due to fear, they are not able to say anything.”
A friend of the deceased student said she last spoke to him on November 16 and that he had repeatedly shared concerns about harassment by a Drama Club teacher, leaving him deeply depressed.
“He told me that he gets insulted a lot, and once, when he cried during the drama practice, the teacher told him that he should not cry because he is a boy and only girls cry. The teacher is very demotivating. He was under a lot of stress,” she said.
According to the FIR lodged by his father, the student had been “under severe mental stress” due to continuous harassment by teachers.
The father alleged that his son had repeatedly complained about certain teachers who “scolded, insulted and mentally tormented him over minor issues”.
Despite several verbal complaints to school authorities, the alleged behaviour continued, the FIR stated. The family described the boy’s final weeks as a period of mounting distress and said their appeals to teachers and the principal had gone unanswered.
(IANS)
