FIR against 4 UP teachers as Class V student kills self over dirty uniform rebuke

KANPUR: An FIR was registered against four teachers in Kannauj on Sunday, following a Class V student's suicide after she was allegedly scolded at a primary school over a dirty uniform.

The case was lodged on the complaint filed by the 10-year-old girl's mother, a day after the incident.

The girl was a student of the village primary school. When she went to attend her classes on Saturday, a teacher reportedly scolded her for wearing dirty clothes and sent her out of the classroom, after which she went home crying, the complaint said.

Police said that while the girl's mother was working outside the house, the minor went back home and allegedly hanged herself in the verandah. Family members later accused school staff of beating and mentally harassing the child and demanded immediate action.

The postmortem examination was conducted on Saturday night and the body was later handed over to the family.

Based on the written complaint, police registered a case against four teachers under Section 107 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, related to abetment of suicide of a child, and Section 115(2), related to voluntarily causing hurt.

Tension rose in the village after the death, with family members and villagers taking the body to the school and staging a protest. Senior officials, including additional superintendent of police Ajay Kumar, SDM Gyanendra Kumar Dwivedi, tehsildar Avnish Kumar, station house officer Jayanti Prasad Gangwar and block education officer Vishwanath Pathak, reached the spot to calm the situation.

ASP Ajay Kumar said the matter was being investigated from all angles. Villagers alleged that the child lost her life because of negligence by the school administration and the teacher's conduct. Police said further action would depend on the findings of the investigation.