A Dalit boy who was a student in the 10th grade at Jawahar Navodaya School was discovered hanging within his classroom in the Pragpura region of Rajasthan's Kotputli-Behror district, news agency PTI reported citing the police on Friday (August 25).
The incident transpired on Wednesday, and as of now, the family of the deceased boy has declined to take custody of his body. They have taken up a protest, demanding the apprehension of two teachers who stand accused of perpetrating the boy's demise and subsequently staging the scene to appear as a suicide, as per their assertions.
Ranjeeta Sharma, the Superintendent of Police for Kotputli-Behror, conveyed that the family alleges consistent harassment of the boy by the two teachers. "Due to the ongoing protest by the family members, the post-mortem has not yet taken place. We are making efforts to engage with them and address their concerns," she was quoted as saying by PTI.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been formally lodged against the implicated teachers under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which includes Section 302 which pertains to murder, confirmed the police. However, no arrests have been executed thus far.
Last week, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot chastised parents for the rising number of suicides in the state as a result of stress. In a meeting with coaching operators, Gehlot blamed parents, saying that enrolling students in classes IX and X in coaching institutes was a "crime." The Chief Minister emphasised how students are under enormous stress as a result of their ongoing classes, and coaching only adds to their problems. He expressed his sadness at learning that a young student had committed suicide.
Another IIT-JEE aspirant, this time from Bihar, committed suicide by hanging himself in Kota. The 18-year-old, from Gaya in Bihar, was discovered hanging in his PG room. The incident was reported on August 15, and local police responded by transporting the deceased to the mortuary of New Medical College Hospital (NMCH).
Meanwhile, Gehlot has formed a committee and asked it to submit a report within 15 days on how to handle the situation and how to improve the state's current trend. "I have announced the formation of a committee, and it will submit its report in 15 days," Rajasthan CM told meeting attendees.