She was just 15 and studying in Class X but her father had pitched his hopes on her. P Vijaya Vani from Saidabad, who hanged herself to death, allegedly due to ill-treatment by her school authorities, was good at academics and meant the world to her parents.
“Vani’s father had several dreams for his daughter. My brother (Kotesh) wanted to make her a lawyer and was certain that she would take care of the family even in his absence,” Vijaya Vani’s uncle Arun said.
Vijaya Vani’s family is yet to come to terms with the fact that she was harassed by her school principal, Neeraja, even after a decent performance in the exams.
Vijaya Vani ’s sister, Chamundeshwari told Expresso that they (the sisters) had always been targeted by principal Neeraja.
Neeraja reportedly used to sit beside Vijaya Vani in the classroom during examinations. “Afterwards, she would say that my sister had copied. How could it be possible,” Chamundeshwari wailed.
“Neeraja madam used to say that our khandaan (family) was full of dull students. My cousins also studied in the same school,” Chamundeshawari said.
Chamundeshwari told her father Kotesh about the harassment being meted out by the principal. Kotesh, a private electrician who also runs a kirana store in the locality, sought to meet Neeraja over the matter but was not allowed inside the school.
“When I wanted to take up the issue, it was my daughter Vijaya Vani who asked me not to pick up any quarrel. She wanted to continue in the school without any problems as she was in Class X and would soon pass out,” Kotesh said.
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