Class 8 girl jumps off fifth floor balcony, dies

LUCKNOW : A Class 8 student of a reputed girls’ institution of the city allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the fifth floor balcony of her flat in Mall Avenue on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, police officials said.

The student apparently took the extreme step after being scolded by her mother for using a cell phone while studying for her exams.

Police said a three-line ‘suicide note’ (written with a pencil) was found in the girl’s room. It did not mention any specific reason for the grave step, but the girl apologised thrice to her mother on the piece of paper.

“I am sorry for what I did,” read the note, said Abhay Mishra, circle officer, of Hazratganj.

The incident triggered a debate on social media. A WhatsApp group of parents, whose children study in the same school, was flooded with messages suggesting that children should not be pressured to perform well in exams and parents/ guardians should have regular interaction with them.

During the morning assembly, the school condoled the student’s untimely demise and declared a holiday on Friday.

The circle officer said investigation revealed that the girl, aged 14, jumped off the balcony of her bedroom sometime after midnight when her parents where asleep.

The girl’s parents were informed about the incident by a security guard of the building. He spotted the girl lying on the ground around 3.15am on Thursday.

The girl was rushed to Dr Shy

ama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead. Her family informed the police about the incident around 4.30 am, said the CO.

He said the family confirmed that the mother scolded her for using mobile phone while studying on Wednesday night.

The girl’s father, a retired army personnel, works with an IT company while her mother is a private bank employee. The deceased was the only child of the couple.