‘Don’t want to die… but I’m helpless’: UP teacher in video before death by suicide, kin allege ‘harassment’ by officials

“Mera 16 lakh rupaye doob chuka hai. Main bahut pareshan hoon… Meri pocket mein suicide note hai, use aap log padh lijiyega… main marna nahin chahta hoon… main apne bachchon aur patni ke liye jeena chahta hoon. (My Rs 16 lakh has been lost, and I’m deeply distressed. There is a suicide note in my pocket, please read it… I do not want to die… I want to live for my children and my wife),” he says in the purported video.

His voice choking, he adds, “I know what a father means to his children, but I am helpless… Please forgive me, mother, father and brother… Please ensure my children do not get trapped in the pursuit of a job like this… I should have invested the money in a business instead…”

Krishna, 43, had been appointed as an assistant teacher to Krishak Laghu Madhyamik Vidyalaya in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria in 2016. In 2021, police said he was dismissed from service over allegations of irregular appointment. He then approached the Allahabad High Court seeking relief. In February 2025, the court directed the BSA to pass fresh orders, strictly, in accordance with law.

The family alleged that, however, that the BSA and clerk demanded Krishna pay up if he wanted a decision in his favour and allegedly harassed him.

Speaking to The Indian Express, the deceased’s younger brother, Ajay Singh, alleged, “The BSA allegedly demanded Rs 20 lakh through a middleman for passing an order in my brother’s favour. My brother managed to pay Rs 16 lakh after mortgaging his wife’s gold ornaments.”

Ajay said his brother hoped he would be reinstated. “However, he was not issued a joining letter. On February 20, when my brother asked the BSA to return the money, she allegedly humiliated and harassed him. Unable to bear the distress, my brother ended his life later that day,” he alleged.

“It is nothing less than the murder of my brother…,” alleged Ajay.

Following Krishna’s death, police said his wife, Gudiya, filed a complaint at Gulariha police station after which an FIR was lodged against the BSA, clerk and others on charges of criminal intimidation and abetment of suicide.

Police have also arrested Anirudh Singh (63), the retired principal of the school where the victim was posted, for allegedly acting as the middleman in the case. “We have arrested the retired principal, and raids are being conducted to trace BSA Shalini Srivastava and clerk Sanjeev Singh. A reward of Rs 10,000 each has been announced for information leading to their arrest,” said Circle Officer, Gorakhpur, Ravi Singh.

The state government suspended Shalini and Sanjeev and recommended a departmental inquiry against them. As part of the investigation, police have seized the DVR of CCTV cameras installed at the BSA office to examine possible evidence.

The case

In 2021, the appointments of Krishna and two other teachers were declared void and subsequently cancelled by the then BSA, Deoria. The Circle Officer said the three approached the HC challenging the action, which directed the BSA to pass a fresh order strictly in accordance with the law.

Ajay claimed his brother submitted a copy of the HC order to the BSA, along with an application seeking compliance with the court’s directions.

During this time, the family claimed the clerk demanded Rs 20 lakh each from the three teachers. Police also said one of the teachers confirmed that the money was demanded.

Ajay alleged, “The retired principal intervened and allegedly brokered a deal of Rs 16 lakh each. Under pressure, my brother and the two other teachers paid the money in two installments. However, the demands for additional money continued. When my brother expressed his inability to pay more and sought the return of the money already paid, the situation escalated.”

He alleged that on February 20, the BSA and clerk summoned Krishna to the Deoria office, where he was humiliated, harassed and threatened he would be implicated in a false case.

Following this, Ajay claimed, his brother died by suicide.