BENGALURU: A Class 7 student of a private school allegedly attempted to end his life by hanging himself at his residence on Tuesday. The victim’s parents alleged that he was subjected to harassment and physical assault by his teachers, which drove him to attempt the extreme step.
According to the FIR on Wednesday, the victim, Kishore (name changed), is the son of Maheshkumar, who runs a grocery store and is a resident of Chikkabasti on Ramasandra Main Road. Maheshkumar alleged that his son, a Class 7 student studying under the Right to Education (RTE) quota at St Philomena School in Mariyappanapalya, was beaten by the school’s administrative secretary, Rangaswamy, the principal, and two to three teachers on July 14.
The alleged assault left the boy with multiple injuries. Distressed by the incident and fearing further harassment, Kishore allegedly attempted to end his life after returning home from school on Tuesday.
The school’s principal, Manjushree MK, told TNIE, “I was not a witness to any of this, but it has come to my notice that yesterday (Tuesday), after the morning school assembly, Kishore found his Hindi project torn and suspected one of his classmates of damaging it. He then allegedly got into a physical altercation with the boy. The other student, who wears braces, was punched and sustained injuries.
The entire class testified about the incident, and the class teacher asked Kishore to bring his parents to school the next day (Wednesday). He has a reputation for being a naughty child, and one of his friends has told us that Kishore was upset because the rest of the class did not support him. It is not for me to draw any conclusions, and we have been cooperating with the police,” the principal claimed.
The Jnanabharathi police have registered an FIR against the school’s administrative secretary, the principal, and two to three teachers under the Juvenile Justice Act and Section 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) and others of the BNS.
HELPLINE
If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need support, call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (24x7) or Call, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline - 02225521111, (Monday-Saturday- 8 am-10 pm)
