New Delhi, Nov 21: The headmistress and two teachers of St. Columba’s School in Delhi were suspended on Wednesday after an FIR was filed in connection with the alleged suicide of a Class X student who accused staff members of persistent harassment. The action came hours after the parents of the 16-year-old protested outside the school demanding accountability for what they called “months of mental torment.”
Police said the boy left the school on Tuesday afternoon through the back gate, instead of boarding his usual van, and went to the Rajinder Nagar Metro station where he allegedly jumped in front of a train. His schoolbag, recovered from the platform, contained a handwritten suicide note addressed to his parents. “Sorry mom, disappointing you for last time,” he wrote, adding elsewhere: “Sorry papa, I should have been a good person like you… the teachers are like this, what I say.”
His father, Pradeep Patil, told reporters the child had repeatedly said certain teachers mocked him, scolded him and isolated him in class. “When we approached the school, they said he lacked focus, especially in mathematics, and that he needed to behave,” Patil said. He also alleged the school had warned that the boy could be issued a transfer certificate.
According to Patil, the immediate trigger came earlier that day when his son slipped during a dance practice on stage. Instead of helping him, teachers allegedly removed him from the performance and accused him of falling on purpose. “One teacher told him, ‘Cry as much as you want, I don’t care,’” Patil said, adding that the principal was watching and “did not intervene.” He claimed the child had been threatened for four days that his parents would be summoned and he would be expelled. “He was even pushed once,” Patil noted.
The FIR states that the suicide note named three staff members, including the school principal. Friends of the boy later told investigators he had appeared mentally stressed for months.
Police said the investigation will include an examination of CCTV footage, interviews with students and staff, and a review of the allegations of physical and verbal intimidation. The school administration has so far offered no response.
