Schoolgirl’s death: CCTV, personal angle under probe

Police are examining CCTV footage, questioning teachers and school staff, and probing personal reasons, including a suspected breakup, as possible factors behind the death of a 17-year-old Class 12 student who was found burnt on her school premises in east Delhi’s Krishna Nagar, sources said on Sunday.

The incident occurred at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya on Saturday during a school inspection. Sources said the student was in her seventh-period class when she asked her teacher for permission to go out to drink water.

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has taken suo motu cognisance of a news report about the death of a 17-year-old Class 12 student and sought an action-taken report from the authorities within two weeks.

“Teams are probing multiple angles in this case. A suspected breakup of the girl is also under scrutiny. Teams are questioning her classmates, family and friends,” the police source said.

According to the police, on Saturday the girl had left the classroom carrying a bottle. She went to an area behind the guard room, where a water tank is also located, before pouring a flammable substance on herself and allegedly setting herself on fire.

Police are investigating how she reached the spot and carried out the act without teachers or security personnel noticing in time. Police are also examining the school’s supervision arrangements and the circumstances in which the student left her classroom.

School staff members rushed to the spot after hearing her screams and found her lying face down in a severely burnt condition. They alerted the police. A call regarding a student being burnt was received at 11.58 am, following which a team from Krishna Nagar police station rushed to the school, Shahdara Deputy Commissioner of Police RP Meena said. The girl was taken to Dr Hedgewar Hospital, where she was declared dead.

Police have seized the school’s CCTV Digital Video Recorder (DVR) and are analysing the footage to reconstruct the sequence of events. The security guard is being questioned to establish where he was at the time of the incident. Police have also examined the attendance register.

A three-page purported suicide note recovered from her school bag is another key piece of evidence. Sources said it referenced her family and a friend. One page reportedly included an apology to her family, while another said a friend should not be harassed. Police are examining the note’s contents and probing whether the student was facing personal difficulties, including relationship problems.

The crime team and the Forensic Science Laboratory team inspected the spot and collected evidence. The student’s elder sister had dropped her at school around 7 am. When she did not return home by around 1 pm, her sister-in-law went to look for her and was informed about the incident. The family, expressing disbelief over the possibility of a suicide, has questioned how the incident could have occurred during school hours and alleged negligence by the school staff.

According to the DCPCR proceedings, the girl allegedly brought a bottle containing petrol and a purported suicide note in her school bag before setting herself on fire near the guard room. Police recovered the note and the bottle, and they the investigating the circumstances leading to the incident.

The DCPCR has directed the Director of Education, the school principal, the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the North-East District and the Station House Officer of Krishna Nagar police station to submit their action-taken reports within two weeks of receiving the order.