A 16-year-old Delhi schoolboy who left his home on Tuesday morning, excited for another day with his drama club, ended his life by afternoon. He left behind a suicide note, asking that his organs be donated and urging that no child should endure the suffering he did. Police said the class 10 student of a private school jumped from the platform of Rajendra Place Metro Station in central Delhi at 2.34 pm.
He was taken to BLK Hospital nearby, where he was declared dead. In his note, he named a few teachers and blamed them for prolonged mental harassment.
His father alleged that his son had been struggling for months with how he was treated in school. "He used to tell me and my wife that teachers scolded him for every small thing and emotionally hurt him. We complained verbally many times, but they never stopped," the father told PTI.
He said they avoided taking stronger action as the class 10 exams were approaching.
"His exams were due in one or two months. Twenty marks come from the school. I did not want to disturb anything," he said, adding that the family had assured the boy that he would be admitted to a different school once the exams were over.
On Tuesday, the boy had stayed back for his drama club session, and according to his father, something that happened there deeply upset him.
"In his drama class, he slipped and fell. The teacher pushed him and insulted him in front of everyone and said he was overacting," the father said. "They scolded him so much that he started crying, but the teacher told him they did not care how much he cried."
This was not the first time his son had felt cornered, he said.
"His classmates told me that a teacher had been threatening him and saying they would give him a transfer certificate and call us (parents) to the school. It was not just him, but three to four more kids have also been treated the same way," he said.
The boy had recently participated in a dance competition and had spoken about wanting to explore theatre and dance more, his father said.
"He was also fairly good at studies," he said.
According to the father, he and his wife had travelled to Kolhapur in Maharashtra on November 18 for his mother's operation, while their son went to school as usual on Tuesday. The first call informing them about the incident came at 2.45 pm.
A senior police officer said the suicide note found at the spot began with the boy identifying himself and asking the reader to call a number. He wrote that continuous scolding by school staff had pushed him to commit suicide and apologised to his parents and elder brother. He also requested that his organs be donated.
"Sorry bhaiya, for all the time I was rude to you," he wrote to his brother, and to his mother, he said, "Sorry mummy, however many times I broke your heart, I am going to do it for the last time."
He expressed gratitude toward his parents and his guilt at not being able to do more for them. The officer said the note ended with the boy asking that whatever remained of him be used to help someone else. "Give my organs to those in need," he wrote, adding that if any organs were still functioning after the fall, they should be donated.
"My school is only like that. My last wish is that action be taken against them. I don’t want any other kid to go through this," he concluded. Police said the allegations and content of the note are being examined.
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