Faridabad Student Suicide: Two Students Picked Up for Teenager's Death

The 16-year-old boy was a class 10 student at Delhi Public School, and had died by suicide on 25 Feb.

The teen's mother had alleged that her son was bullied over his sexuality.

(Photo: The Quint)

(If you feel suicidal or know someone in distress, please reach out to them with kindness and call these numbers of local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs.)

Over five months after a teenager of a private school in Faridabad died by suicide, police said two of his former schoolmates were apprehended on Tuesday, 9 August, and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.

While police said the boys have since been released, no further details were available.

"The names of the two minors came up during the probe. They were taken in for questioning and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board. Based on their involvement and the investigation so far, Sections 6 (sexual assault) and 18 (attempt to commit an offence) of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act were invoked and added to the FIR. At the time of the alleged suicide, the two students had already shifted to another school,” a police officer, who is a part of the Special Investigation Team formed to probe the case, told The Indian Express.

'Want Principal of School To Be Arrested': Teen's Mother

"I am glad some action is being taken, but it is still slow. There were three children who had assaulted my son and a few others who had bullied and harassed him. So far, two of the main accused have been produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, where they were questioned," the deceased teenager's mother told The Quint.

She added, "We also want the principal to be arrested. The principal who was scared about this, had applied for an anticipatory bail and then later withdrawn it."

The 16-year-old boy who was a class 10 student at Delhi Public School in Greater Faridabad, died by suicide on 25 February, leaving behind a note accusing his school of bullying. He was reported to have jumped from the 15th floor of his residential society.

The teen's mother, who was employed at the same school, had alleged that her son was harassed over his sexuality.

A note recovered from his house read: “The school has killed me... especially higher authorities.”

She said that in August 2021 her son had his first panic attack. “He was studying online when his heart started beating fast. It was then that he opened to me about the bullying he was facing at school. I rushed him to the hospital, and the doctor told me that what my son was going through in that moment was a panic attack,” said the mother.

Soon after, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and depression, and began taking therapy as well as medication, said the mother.

In the note, he had named the senior academic coordinator of his school, adding that he did not want to live in this hateful world.

A First Information Report was filed under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code against the senior academic coordinator of the school. The coordinator was suspended from school, and was arrested. A few days later, she was granted bail.

The teen's mother told The Quint that the students used all kinds of slurs against him. "They didn’t realise the impact of their jokes on my son. He would have panic attacks due to the bullying. And then one day, he told me he had been sexually assaulted too,” she claimed.

"One day, he told me he had been sexually assaulted."

Deceased teenager's mother

In September 2021, the teen's mother wrote to the school authorities about an alleged incident of harassment her son faced. "He had told me what had happened, and I drafted the email," she said.

In March this year, a close relative of the family claimed that the teenager was "repeatedly mocked and called gay." He was also stripped in the school bathroom. The teen's mother claimed that the school authorities didn't take any action.

In March, the deceased’s mother was relieved from service until further orders.

Last month, she had alleged laxity in the police probe saying that cops were delaying the investigation and was yet to file a charge sheet in the case. The police, however, said the probe was ongoing and denied the allegations.

(With inputs from The Indian Express.)