‘Made to stand for 4 hours’: Faridabad teen ‘dies by suicide’ at school

A 16-year-old student allegedly died by suicide after jumping from the third-floor terrace of a private school in Faridabad’s NIT area on Tuesday afternoon. Her family has alleged that she was made to stand outside her classroom for nearly four hours, as punishment, before the incident.

School authorities have denied the allegations, a police spokesperson said. According to police officers, the incident occurred between 1-1.30 pm, around the time classes concluded for the day. School staff rushed the student, studying in Class XI, to a local healthcare facility, following which she was moved to the district civil hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival due to injuries sustained in the fall.

The teenager’s father told the police that she was allegedly subjected to punishment during school hours, which left her deeply distressed. Speaking to reporters, he claimed that a dispute had occurred among some students earlier in the day and that his daughter had been unfairly disciplined.

He alleged she was made to stand outside the classroom for nearly four hours. “She was doing well in her studies. Her behaviour was completely normal when she left for school in the morning. She felt humiliated by the punishment,” he told mediapersons Tuesday.

He claimed that the family was alerted to the incident only after a significant delay. The school, however, strongly refuted the allegations of mistreatment and the four-hour punishment before the police, senior officials said.

According to police, the school principal stated that the student had asked for permission to use the washroom and was accompanied by a female staff member. But she went towards the terrace and jumped before anyone could intervene, it claimed.

The management added that it is fully cooperating with the authorities in the ongoing probe. The Indian Express reached out to the principal for a comment over call but did not get a response. Investigators said they are reviewing CCTV camera footage from the school corridors and premises to determine the exact sequence of events leading up to the incident.

SI Yashpal Yadav, Faridabad Police spokesperson, told The Indian Express, “Early Wednesday, the parents submitted a formal application for a post-mortem to be conducted, but they did not level any allegations against the school through a complaint yet.” “The post-mortem will be completed later today,” he added.