Chennai (Tamil Nadu): A teenage boy was found dead near a railway station in the Nellai district of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday in what is suspected to be another suicide case. This is the second such death reported in the state on Tuesday and the fourth in the last two weeks. Three of the four deceased are teenage girls.
The 17-year-old is suspected to have ended his life because of his phone addiction as his mother had refused to give him back his cell phone. Police are investigating whether the boy faced any other problems at school. The Munneerpallam police have taken cognisance of the matter, while the body has been shifted to Palayangot Government Hospital for postmortem.
Earlier in the day, a class 12 girl died by suicide in the Cuddalore district. Preliminary investigation revealed that the girl, a student of a private school located in North Periyar Nagar in Virudhachalam, looked depressed on Monday after she came back from an exam. While her parents were not home, the girl ended her life at around 9 pm, the police informed.
The officials said that the bereaved parents of the girl were about to cremate her when the police found out about the incident and reached the spot. They retrieved the body and sent it for postmortem thereafter. The police have registered a case in the matter, while further investigation is underway. Earlier on Monday, another class 12 girl was reported dead in Tiruvallur district in her hostel room attached to a government-aided school, police officials said.
The girl's body was taken to the Tiruvallur government medical college and hospital for postmortem. Police claim she took the extreme step during the wee hours of Monday. The police quickly transferred the case to CB-CID while relatives and villagers of the deceased girl staged a protest, batting for justice. The incidents come against the backdrop of violence witnessed on July 17 in Kallakurichi district in the state following the death of a girl student. The 17-year-old girl was studying Class 12 in a private residential school in Chinnasalem's Kaniyamoor area, about 15 km from district headquarters Kallakurichi. She was found dead on July 13 on the hostel premises.
Also read: Class 12 girl from Tamil Nadu dies by suicide inside hostel room: Police
In some other parts of the state, allegations of teachers beating up students and parents protesting against it by staging demonstrations have also been reported following the Kallakurichi incident. Director of state-run Institue of Mental Health, Dr P Poornachandrika, pointing to recent incidents involving suicides, said that such copy cat behaviour should be halted by following guidelines. All stakeholders, including schools, colleges or parents, should have a watchful eye over suicidal tendency and take timely steps to prevent it, she said.
A parent said many schools still continue the practice of corporal punishment or exert 'unacceptable pressure' on students only to produce 'excellent results'. Requesting anonymity, he claimed teachers on most occasions are in a tearing hurry to complete the syllabus and do not take care to see if students have really understood the subjects that were taught.
A teacher of a reputed city school said both the teaching and student community are 'today facing a pathetic situation'. For the past 2 years, students were confined to their homes due to the pandemic. They were promoted to higher classes with bare minimum effort on their side. They had reduced syllabus. "Most of the students spent this time in leisure. Now, it is not the case. They have full portions. They have to attend physical classes," the teacher, who has over 25 years of teaching experience said.
