‘Thrashed, humiliated, consumed herbicide’: Punjab govt school principal, five teachers booked after student dies by suicide

The father in his statement to the police said told that his son consumed herbicide on August 23 after returning from school. Soon he started developing health complications and was rushed to a private hospital in Moga for treatment where he remained admitted for days. He was further referred to a private hospital in Jalandhar, then to DMCH Ludhiana on September 11 and finally to AIIMS Bathinda on September 16, as his condition kept deteriorating. At AIIMS Bathinda, the doctors told the family to take him home as there were no chances of his survival. He was brought home where he died Friday.

The father alleged that his son took the extreme step after being “humiliated and thrashed” by six teachers at the school including the principal.

On the basis of his statement, police registered an FIR against the principal and the teachers under the sections 108 (abetment to suicide) and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of BNS at Dharamkot police station.

Inspector Gurmel Singh, SHO, Dharamkot, said that prima facie, the boy was scolded at the school by his teachers for “teasing” a girl.

“As per information gathered from school, teachers had scolded the boy after he was found teasing a girl and they had asked him to maintain distance from her. However, as per the boy’s father, he was badly humiliated and thrashed. It is a matter of probe if the teachers in question physically assaulted and thrashed the boy and humiliated him to an extent that he took this step,” said the inspector.