HYDERABAD: Physical assault, abuse and use of vulgar language by lecturers and staffers of Sri Chaitanya Junior Residential College in Narsingi forced a 16-year-old student to end his life by suicide on the college premises on Tuesday night, students of the college said.
The police said that the student blamed teachers Acharya and Krishna Reddy, staffer Jagan and the warden, Naresh, in a suicide note that he left behind in a pocket. The teachers and warden allegedly used to slap him and abuse him, as well as his friends, when they complained about poor food quality and lack of other amenities.
The victim also apologised to his parents and grandmother for taking the extreme step.
The victim’s father said he met his son on Tuesday evening. “I met him at 7.45 pm at the hostel and gave him medicines as he had a skin disease. He was depressed and complained that the two teachers and the warden were beating and abusing him. I told him to focus on studies and promised to take him home after his examinations,” the father said.
“I received a call from the management at 12.20 am. They informed me that my son was admitted to Anand Hospital. My wife, elder son and I rushed to the hospital, where a doctor told me my son had died,” he said.
Students studying in the college corroborated the father’s account, saying that the victim was harassed and assaulted.
A student, requesting anonymity, said: “The hostel warden did not react even after coming to know of the suicide attempt. He just bolted the door and shooed away the students. More students joined in and we carried him to the main road, where we flagged a car to take us to a hospital. But, he was already dead due to the delay.”
The student said that the incident took place around 10.45 pm, after students returned to their rooms at 10 pm.
Family members, relatives and friends of the victim, in the interim, started protesting on the college premises, demanding action against those responsible.
“Stern action should be taken against the warden Naresh, teachers Acharya, Krishna Reddy and staffer Jagan,” the victim’s father said.
When contacted by Deccan Chronicle, the college dean, V. Venkateshwaru, refused to comment on the incident.
The situation was normalised only after the Narsingi police reached the spot, pacified the protesters and registered a case.
“We received a complaint from the victim’s father at 1 am and registered a case under IPC Section 305 (abetment to suicide),” Narayan Reddy, sub-inspector of Narsingi police, said.
The police recorded the statements of the students and called the four members named in the suicide note for questioning.
They said that the student’s body was shifted to Osmania General Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Meanwhile, activists of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) held an agitation at the Intermediate Board office in Nampally on Wednesday, demanding stern action against the junior college authorities.
They demanded a comprehensive inquiry and tried to lay siege to the office, but were thwarted by police, who detained the agitators in preventive custody and released them later.
DISCLAIMER: As per the law and journalistic ethics, Deccan Chronicle does not name minors, who are victims of crimes or have died by suicide, and juveniles in conflict with the law, for committing serious crimes.
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