(Trigger warning: Suicide, harassment)
(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.)
A 17-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad died allegedly by suicide on Monday, March 20, over 'harassment' by four men.
As per the police, she consumed a poisonous substance the previous night and was rushed to a local private hospital when her condition deteriorated. She died the next morning.
In a purported note she left behind, the teenager alleged that she was harassed and threatened by four young men who lived in her neighbourhood in Kundarki.
The note said that her family had filed a complaint against her alleged harassers at Kundarki police station, but no one took any action because the accused were from "affluent families."
"These are rich people. I don't have the courage to fight them anymore, but my family should not suffer. Sir, will you listen to me now? After my death, these people should be punished in such a way that girls from poor families can live and achieve their dreams," the note read.
What Happened?
The girl, an Intermediate student, named four people in her note – Vikesh, Pramod, Babloo, and Hargyan – and held them responsible for her death.
"I was constantly harassed by them on my way to school. They threatened to kill me and my family members if I told anyone about what they were doing. I did everything they asked me to out of fear. I even stopped going to school," she said in the purported note.
She alleged that the men took "videos" of her and "took advantage of my helplessness because my family is poor."
A member of the girl's family told the media that on the day of Holi (8 March), the four men came to her house and began harassing her. "We were not at home at the time. But when she told us what happened, we went to the men and asked why they did it. But they started threatening us. That's when we went to the Kundarki police station," he said.
The family member added that the police took down their complaint but did not do anything about it. "We want the official who didn't take action based on her complaint and those who were named in her note to be arrested," he said.
What Did the Police Say?
The girl's family and the accused have been involved in a long-standing land dispute, said Hemraj Kumar Meena, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Moradabad.
"When the family got to know about the alleged harassment, they filed a complaint at Kundarki police station. But they claimed that no action was taken," the SSP said.
He added that the sub-inspector in charge, Sachin Malik, has now been suspended over negligence of duty.
"Two of the four people named in the note have now been arrested. We are in the process of arresting the others. A case under Sections 354 (outraging a woman's modesty), 504 (intentional insult), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and relevant sections of the POCSO Act has been registered," the SSP said.
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