PALAKKAD: The tragic suicide of 14-year-old Ashirnanda, a Class 9 student of St. Dominic's Convent English Medium School, Sreekrishnapuram, has triggered public outrage, as family members, school students, and local organisations alleged that the school mentally harassed the student.
Protests erupted in front of the school on Wednesday morning, demanding justice and accountability.
According to the family, Ashirnanda, daughter Thachanattukara native C Prashanth, was asked not only relocate to a different seat in class due to low marks, but was also forced to write and sign a declaration—in the presence of her parents—stating that if she continued to underperform, she would agree to repeat Class 8. The parents allege that this public humiliation deeply affected her mental health.
On Tuesday evening, the girl was found hanging in a room on the upper floor of her home in Thachanattukara. She had returned from school, played briefly with her younger sister, and was later found missing when a neighbour’s child arrived for tuition. A search led to the devastating discovery.
The incident has drawn the attention of the district administration. Authorities said the Palakkad District Collector has demanded an immediate report, and officials from the District Education Department have visited the school and collected preliminary evidence.
According to media reports, the school principal has denied all allegations of harassment, while the school management admitted that the student had been shifted to another class due to poor performance in mathematics, which they claim was part of an academic support strategy, not punishment. They insist that no harassment took place.
However, the family and local protestors see this as a clear case of emotional pressure and inappropriate treatment of a minor. Agitators have called for a detailed inquiry and psychological audits in schools to prevent such incidents in the future.
Nattukal police are continuing their investigation, and the final course of action will be determined after the postmortem and detailed inquiry. The school has yet to release an official public statement.
Repeated efforts to contact the principal and the school management proved futile.