‘My daughter was targeted after I withdrew my son from school’
NOIDA SUICIDE Girl’s father says he pulled out his son from school 3 yrs ago as teachers were ‘biased’ against him; police yet to make any arrest in the suicide case, say ‘girl killed herself over poor marks’
NOIDA/NEWDELHI: ‘I am a failure’. ‘I am dumb’. ‘I hate myself’.
When a 15-year-old girl hanged herself at her Noida home on Tuesday evening, these rough scribbles in her notebook hinted her agony regarding her academic performance. What her notebook did not contain were allegations of sexual harassment by a male teacher of a prominent private school in east Delhi where she studied.
On Friday, her parents rued that they did not pay attention to the girl’s complaints of “inappropriate touches” against her male teacher. Since November, the girl had allegedly approached her parents twice. “I would have recorded conversations with my daughter if I knew of her suicidal thoughts,” her father said.
In the “absence of evidence”, the police have avoided arresting the male teacher despite registering a case under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. “It seems the girl killed herself over poor marks,” said AK Singh, superintendent of police (Noida City).
Taking cognizance of the complaint filed by the parents, police booked one male teacher of her school for abetment to suicide and sexual harassment under POCSO Act. A female teacher and principal of the school were booked for abetment to suicide.
The girl’s father said his constant confrontations with the school began three years ago when his son was enrolled there. Accusing the authorities of being biased against his son for his interest in dance, he had pulled him out of the school after Class 10. He said the result of his actions began to allegedly manifest on his daughter last year. “The school teachers began targeting my daughter for my decision to withdraw my son from the school. They would instigate other stu- dents and humiliate us during parent-teacher meetings,” the father alleged.
“In November, my daughter hesitatingly told me that her male teacher had touched her inappropriately. I refused to believe it and told her she must have misunderstood him,” the father said.
“I comforted her saying the teacher must have touched her as a show of appreciation. She insisted that it was a bad touch. But I told her not to think negatively,” her mother added.
The parents also accused a female teacher of beating and rebuking their daughter.
The girl allegedly approached her parents again in November, this time allegedly accusing the teacher cornering her when she was alone, following her in Metro trains and threatening to fail her in exams.
In the days preceding her annual exams in February, the girl allegedly wept inconsolably at home. She would tell her parents that her male teacher was set to fail her in his subject.
The results on March 16 showed she had failed in social studies and science.
The father said that the girl had been putting up a happy face at home ever since the exam. When her mother left for some work on Tuesday afternoon, she complemented her saying she looked beautiful. Over the phone, she enthusiastically requested her father for a new dress. “But moments before disconnecting the call, she cried and said her teacher said he wouldn’t pass her
The teacher was not targeting my daughter alone. I know at least one other student sexually harassed by that teacher, but parents are not willing to come forward. THE GIRL’S FATHER
in the compartmental exam (scheduled for Friday), irrespective of how she performed,” the father alleged.
When her father and brother returned home on Tuesday at 5.15pm, the house was allegedly locked from inside. The house was broken into and the girl found hanging from the curtain rod in one dark corner of the drawing room.
The police had earlier registered a case of abetment of suicide and criminal intimidation against the two teachers and the school principal. The POCSO Act was added only later and the constable who registered the case was suspended for the initial omission. “The constable did not understand that allegations of a bad touch amounted to sexual harassment,” the SP said.
Hindustan Times’ repeated phone calls and messages to the school principal remained unanswered. However, speaking to ANI, the principal had earlier denied all allegations.
Parents of other school children, meanwhile, said they were worried for their children even though their wards hadn’t faced such a situation.
They have formed a group and would interact with the authorities in connection with their children’s safety.
The girl’s parents are hoping other girl students would come forward with similar complaints. “The teacher was not targeting my daughter alone. I know at least one other student sexually harassed by that teacher, but other parents are not willing to come forward,” alleged the girl’s father.
APPEAL FOR FAIR PROBE
Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj on Friday came out in support of the family of the 15-year-old girl and demanded a fair probe into the case.
“I am personally not aware of the happenings at the school and what the child faced, but as parents have made allegations, a fair probe must be carried out. If the regular procedure of investigation is not sufficient, then a probe must be done by the Central Bureau of Investigation,” Maharaj said.
The girl’s father, a Kathak dancer himself, had trained under Birju Maharaj. “When I heard the news, my reaction was of complete disbelief as I have seen the girl perform. I wanted to train her but, unfortunately, that moment never arrived. She was so talented in Kathak that had she even completely abandoned studies, she would still have made a name nationwide,” Maharaj said.