TIRUPPUR: A 17-year-old schoolgirl died after accidentally falling into a well while trying to prevent her father from attempting suicide in Avinashi of Tiruppur district. The deceased was identified as R Rithika of A Kurumbapalayam, a Class 12 student at a government-aided school in Avinashi.
Police sources said Ravichandran (45), the father of the deceased, works at a knitwear company. Ravichandran, who was a tippler earlier, had not consumed liquor for the past seven years at the request of his family.
On Saturday night, after getting his weekly wage, Ravichandran came home under the influence of alcohol. This led to a heated argument between him and his wife Malathi. Ravichandran then rushed towards a 100-foot-deep empty well near his house to die by suicide.
His wife, his elder daughter Sandhya and younger daughter Rithika tried to prevent him as he approached the well. However, Rithika unexpectedly tripped and fell into the well. On information, firefighters from Avinashi and Cheyur police reached the spot. After a brief struggle, they recovered Rithika’s body and sent it to the Avinashi government hospital for post-mortem.
(To overcome suicidal thoughts, contact state helpline 104 or Sneha suicide prevention helpline at 044- 24640050.)