CHENNAI: The upsetting trend of student suicide continues in Tamil Nadu. In a fourth such incident, a class XI girl student hanged herself inside her house located at Kaliamman Koil Street in Ayyampatti near Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district.
Police sources claim that the 17-year-old girl resorted to the extreme step due to acute stomach ache. However, that claim is contentious.
The body of the girl has been shifted to Virdhunagar government hospital for postmortem.
The girl was a student at a government school. She returned from school on Tuesday and hung herself around 6 pm.
In recent days, three class XII girls have died by suicide in the state.
In the first of these four incidents, which was reported in Kallakurichi, the death of a student led to violent protests thereby leading to the arrest of five people, including the school's principal and two teachers, after police found a note that accused two teachers for humiliating her for her academic performance.
Following the spate of suicides, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday appealed to girl students to shun suicidal thoughts. "Girls should never be pushed to suicidal thoughts. Turn trials into accomplishments," he said according to a report.
(Suicide helplines -- Maithri, Cochin: +91 239 6272; Sumaitri, New Delhi: 2338 9090, Sneha, Chennai: 91-44-2464 0050, 91-44-2464 0060, Aasra, Mumbai: 9820466726, Fortis MentalHealth: 8376804102)