'Threatened, pressured to withdraw case': 14-year-old girl kills self after ‘harassment’ by school teacher in UP

AGRA: A class 8 student from Aligarh allegedly died by suicide after she was harassed by her 55-year-old school teacher and his family members, police said on Saturday.The case dates back to Dec when the teacher, who also owns the institute, allegedly behaved inappropriately with the 14-year-old girl during a coaching session at the premises. The girl informed her family, following which, a complaint was lodged in Feb and a case was registered under section 74 (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of BNS. However, the family alleged that no concrete action or arrest was made.They added that the teacher and his son threatened the girl for weeks, pressuring her to withdraw the case. On Thursday, distressed by the alleged intimidation, she was found hanging at her aunt's residence in Bulandshahr. Police were informed and her body was taken to Aligarh for postmortem. The girl's father accused police of negligence, saying timely action could have prevented the tragedy.Following her demise, a fresh case was registered against the teacher, his son and daughter-in-law under section 108 (abetment to suicide), 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of BNS. The family alleged that the daughter-in-law had gone to their home and threatened to kill them if the case was not withdrawn.The girl's father said she was so terrified of the accused's daughter-in-law that she would faint upon seeing her, and had been under medical observation for mental distress.SHO Ravi Chandrawal said, "The teacher's son has been sent to jail and an investigation is underway to trace his father and his wife who are absconding. Action will be taken accordingly."