Unable to face the disgrace in his classroom, a Class IX student of a Government school in Hoshangabad committed suicide by consuming poision.
The boy had taken this extreme step on September 18 and succumbed at Bhopal’s Narmada Hospital on Saturday. Police said, he was harassed during internal examinations in Paghwara under Hoshangabad district on September 18. Police said that during the quarterly exams at Phagwara Government Higher Secondary School, the victim Rohit Mehra (14) was allegedly found cheating and after which invigilator Pramod Prajapati told him to strip down his pant.
Ashamed with the disgraceful incident, soon after returning home, the victim took extreme step. The family members rushed him to a nearby hospital. After his condition started deteriorating, he was referred to Narmada Hospital in Bhopal, where he died during treatment. The school lies under Dolaria police station area. When contacted the police told that they have not registered any case. A case of abetment to suicide would be registered if Pramod Prajapati is found guilty during the investigation, said police.
State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPRC) termed the incident unfortunate and the act of the teacher as inhuman. The SCPRC has recommended teachers training programme for the Naramadpuram division teachers. Deeply disturbed by the incident the SCPRC has recommended the Commissioner of Naramdapuram division Arun Tiwari to organise training camps for teachers regarding sensitisation and better handling of the situations. Tiwari has been asked to submit a report on the incident.
Chairperson of SCPRC Usha Chaturvedi has asked the DM to submit a report on the incident within a week. It is second case of harsh punishment by a teacher. In the same division last year a student from Betul succumbed to death after being brutally thrashed by teacher.