(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 girl student reportedly died by suicide in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore District, on Tuesday, 26 July. The class 12 student, who blamed her "inability to fulfil IAS aspirations placed on her by her parents" in a four-page note, has become the third such student in the state over the last two weeks.
The parents, who are farmers, attempted to complete the rituals without informing the police, NDTV reported. Cuddalore Superintendent of Police S Sakthi Ganesan told news agency ANI that she died by suicide due to "domestic issues at her home."
This comes a day after another class 12 student was found dead inside the hostel of a private school in Tamil Nadu's Thiruvallur district on Monday, 25 July and two weeks after another student allegedly killed herself inside the school premises in Kallakurichi on 13 July, rattling the entire state.
In another incident of attempted suicide, a first-year woman student fell from the first floor of her college building in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram on 25 July. While the police have reportedly recovered a note in her case, she is currently undergoing treatment for a fracture and hip injury.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, referring to the recent spate of such incidents, said that "students should not have suicidal thoughts and should be taught to deal with any situation."
"Educational institutes must perceive education as service and not as business. Students should be taught to deal with any situation. They shouldn't have suicidal thoughts and must think about achieving more," he said, according to news agency ANI.
What Happened in Thiruvallur and Kallakurichi ?
Although an investigation into the Thiruvallur case is underway, the girl's sister has claimed that she isn't someone who would die by suicide. The girl's family and relatives blocked the Tiruttani- Pothatturpettai road and said that the school management did not provide them with proper details about her death.
"We suspect that there is something that is yet to be revealed. We won't take her body without knowing what exactly happened to her. She isn't someone who can commit suicide. She spoke to our family last night as well," her sister Gayathri said.
However, her body was handed over to her family on 26 July, according to ANI.
Before this, the parents of the 17-year-old student who was found dead in the hostel premises of her school in Kallakurichi, had also alleged foul play. On 17 July, violent protests and arson erupted in the district and the school demanding action against the school and the accused.
Five people, including the school principal and two teachers, were arrested after the police found a note in which she had blamed two teachers for torturing her.
(With inputs from NDTV and ANI.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)