Lacking smartphone to attend online classes, Class 9 girl sets herself ablaze in Kerala

Her parents said that Devika was a bright student and could not even bear the pain of losing a single class of her most important Class IX standard. 
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

MALAPPURAM: A 14-year-old Dalit girl from Valanchery has reportedly committed suicide as she didn't have the facilities to attend the online classes for her Class IX studies. The deceased student has been identified as Devika, daughter of Balakrishnan and Sheeba, residents of Mangeri near Valanchery.

She was a student of Government Higher Secondary School, Irimbiliyam.

Police said the girl went missing after 4 PM on Monday. Her body was later found at an open place just 100 metres away from the house. A kerosene can was found next to her dead body lying on the ground. Police said the reason behind the death can only be confirmed after the inquest. 

"The inquest is going on. More details related to the death will only be revealed after the investigation and postmortem," said Shaji M K, Valanchery Circle Inspector.

However, the parents said their daughter might have committed suicide due to the unavailability of facilities in their house to attend the online classes. They said that Devika was a bright student and could not even bear the pain of losing a single class of her most important Class IX standard. 

Her parents don't have smartphones and a television in their house was under repair.

"She had no other issues. She was a brilliant student and teachers were very proud of her. We told her that we can repair the television soon. Otherwise, the schools might provide you with a tablet computer. But, she was disappointed about the inadequate facilities to take the online classes in the house," said her parents. 

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