Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Journalism of Courage
Premium
Police say girl dies by suicide; ‘murdered’: family claims school concealing details
The student’s family denied that the 14-year-old had died by suicide and accused the school management of a cover-up.
Protests erupted in Jalandhar on Friday night after a 14-year-old girl’s body was found under suspicious circumstances.
Police officials Saturday said a 14-year-old girl allegedly died by suicide and the family, alleging that she was murdered, claimed negligence and concealment of information by the school, in Punjab’s Jalandhar. Police said the post-mortem examination was conducted today.
The death of the Class 9 student on Friday led to a tense situation. The protestors including the deceased’s family gathered outside the school late on Friday raising slogans against the school authorities and police.
Alleging that they were delaying the release of CCTV footage, the protesters tried opening the gate demanding the release of it. The school gate was eventually opened when police intervened Saturday afternoon, after which the footage was procured.
Police said the girl studied at a particular branch of the school but used to visit another branch daily for tennis practice.
On Friday, her mother dropped her off at the school as usual but the girl did not return home in the evening. Later, her body was found near F-Block of the Jalandhar Heights flats, which is 2 kilometres away from her tennis branch, police said.
The residents of the area informed police that the girl jumped from the building. Police said the residents took the girl to a hospital but the doctors pronounced her dead on arrival.
In the school’s CCTV footage, the girl is seen leaving the school alone on foot at around 4.38 PM on Friday, police said. The footage from the building shows the girl getting down from an auto-rickshaw at the gate of the society at 4.46 PM. Around 5.00 PM, information about her death was received.
Story continues below this ad
Police said preliminary investigation suggested suicide, but admitted that it was still unclear how the girl reached the residential area. The investigation is still ongoing, they said.
The family, however, have strongly rejected the suicide theory and claimed that it was a planned murder. They raised several questions about the circumstances leading to the girl’s death. If she had reached Jalandhar Heights on her own, how was her tennis kit found in the school ground, they asked. According to the family, the entry register at the tennis court showed that she was marked “present”.
According to the family, police later informed that they recovered a suicide note written by the deceased.
SHO Surjit Kumar of Sadar police station said the suicide note read: “Mummy, I have failed in Mathematics and Science. I could not live up to your expectations. Therefore, I am disturbed and ending my life. Sorry.”
Story continues below this ad
In the note, she reportedly mentioned she was weak in Mathematics and Science, and that her exams had not gone well. However, the result is yet to be declared.
The family said the girl had earlier failed twice in these subjects.
Advertisement
Loading Recommendations...
Live Blog