COIMBATORE: A second-year student of the Government Arts and Science College for Women, Puliyakulam, attempted to end her life inside the classroom on Wednesday morning after the principal allegedly insulted her in front of all the students on Tuesday over the making of reels at the college.
The B.Sc Computer Science student was admitted to a private hospital in Coimbatore city for treatment.
The city police, along with officers from the Office of the Joint Director of Collegiate Education, Coimbatore, are conducting an inquiry.
Sources from college claimed a few students had allegedly shot reels on the college campus.
The visuals accompanied by a cinema song were posted by them on their Instagram accounts. Moreover, some students had recently uploaded on social media accounts reels on the rehearsal for Pongal celebration. Meanwhile, the principal convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday evening, which was attended by the students and teachers.
During the meeting, she instructed students not to shoot reels on the campus or in the classrooms, displaying their identity cards. She also showed some reels shot by some students and commented such content could affect the reputation of the college.
Moreover, she allegedly singled out a student from the computer science department, who has more than 6,000 followers on Instagram, and showed her reels to other students, remarking that they featured a double-meaning song. She felt humiliated when her reel was shown before everyone. Meanwhile, the students who had shot the reels deleted it from their account.
“The student, who was upset after the meeting, came to the college on Wednesday morning and attempted suicide. She later collapsed in the classroom. In a semi-conscious state she revealed that she had attempted to die by suicide. She was taken to a hospital where she is currently stable,” the sources added.
A student from the college told TNIE that the principal should have advised those who posted the Instagram reels individually instead of reprimanding them in front of all the students.
College principal (in-charge) Anusmitha Sebastian denied the allegation and told TNIE that she had shown the student’s reels only to the teaching faculty.
“Some students shot reels to songs within the campus and classrooms, showing their college ID cards. This affects the educational atmosphere and the college’s reputation as well. To prevent this, I convened a common meeting for all students and instructed them not to make reels on the campus, considering their welfare,” she said.
Coimbatore Regional Joint Director of Collegiate Education N Shenbagalakshmi told TNIE that an inquiry is underway into the matter.
(To overcome suicidal thoughts, contact the health department’s helpline 104 or the Vidiyal helpline run by Coimbatore police at 0422-2300999.)