14-Year-Old Found Dead in Noida School, Family Alleges Murder

“The school authorities have abused my daughter & then killed her,” alleges  mother of 14-year-old girl. 

Poonam Agarwal
India
Updated:
Family alleges foul play over the alleged suicide of a 14-year-old girl who was found hanging from a fan inside the school premises in Noida. 
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Family alleges foul play over the alleged suicide of a 14-year-old girl who was found hanging from a fan inside the school premises in Noida. 
(Image: Erum Gour/The Quint)

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“My (14-year-old) daughter was killed in the school. I think something wrong happened with my daughter in school. The school authorities have abused my daughter and then killed her by hanging her from a fan.”
Mother of 14-year-old girl

Parents of a 14-year-old girl in Noida are crying foul over their daughter’s alleged suicide. She was found dead on 3 July inside a classroom of a girls’ boarding school in Noida.

“My daughter’s salwar was unbuttoned. My husband attempted to reach the fan by climbing the same table which had been used to hang my daughter but he could not reach it. There was a gap of around 1 foot. When the fan was out of reach for my husband, how could my daughter reach it. My daughter used to complain that her teachers used to beat her in the school.”
Mother of 14-year-old girl

The girl’s family who lives in Haryana was informed about the alleged suicide after the body was found.

“I dropped my daughter there on 18 June and on 3 July I got a call at 5:30 in the morning that please hurry and come. As soon as we entered the school, our phones were snatched. After that we were shown our daughter, hanging from the fan.
Mother of 14-year-old girl

The girl was staying at home during the lockdown and had returned to the boarding school on 18 June, said her mother.

On 14 July, the Noida police recorded the statement of the girl’s younger sister who was also studying in the same school. The Noida police acted after 10 days because the family wrote to the Chief Minister of Haryana, ML Khattar, seeking criminal investigation against the school.

“We requested the police to record my statement along with that of my husband, but they refused. They said that they will record our statement when it is needed.”
Mother of 14-year-old girl

The family says they wanted to take the teenager’s body home and file a police complaint but school officials did not allow it. They say school officials claimed that the girl had written 'against' her mother in a 'suicide note', hinting that revealing this could lead to police action against her.

“They (school officials) told me that your daughter has written a letter against you saying that my mother doesn’t love me. I said no problem, if my daughter has written it, I will go to jail but I will take my daughter’s body home. Then the school authorities threatened my husband by telling him -one of your daughters is dead and your wife will go to jail.”
Mother of 14-year-old girl
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The mother also alleges that school officials made her younger daughter write that the 14-year-old died due to sickness. She says the family was then forced to sign this note.

“They made my younger daughter write a letter on behalf of her father saying that my daughter was sick, had fever, the school had her treated but she did not get better and died, and now I am cremating her. They told my husband, your daughter will write this and you sign it. I know how to sign, yet they forcibly took my thumb impression. I said I will not sign nor give a thumb impression but they took it when I was unconscious.”
Mother of 14-year-old girl

‘Family’s Allegations Are Baseless’: School

A founding member of the school, whose name we are not revealing, has admitted to The Quint that the school should have informed the police on the day the girl’s body was found hanging. His defence for not doing so is that the family did not want police to intervene.

“All allegations made by the family are baseless. We have shared all evidence with the police. They have recorded our statement as well.”
Founding Member of the School

The girl’s father is a daily wager. He claims to have sold his land to fight a legal case and get justice for his daughter.

(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)

Published: 16 Jul 2020,07:36 AM IST

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