Girl jumps to death in Howrah school

HOWRAH: A class X girl jumped to death from the terrace of her four-storeyed school building on Wednesday. A student spotted Sunita Kumari Bhagat Chaurasia lying in a pool of blood on a concrete reservoir that lies along a corridor between the school's main building and the boundary wall around 12.30 pm. AkshoySiksha Sadan School, a girls' institution near Howrah Maidan, had just gottenover after the first test for students who are to appear for the Madhyamikexamination. Sunita had appeared for the Hindi 1st paper exam. No one saw theteenager take the fatal leap.A student said a girl, apparentlyaccused of cheating in the test, had been expelled from the exam hall during theday. She said this expelled student may have been Sunita. School headmistressDurga Dash, however, denied that anyone was expelled during theexam.Dash described Sunita as a mediocre student. "Around 12.30 pm,we heard a student scream. Most students had left for the day and teachers werearranging answer scripts. We rushed out and spotted Sunita lying on the concretereservoir with her head smashed," she said.A team from Howrah policestation reached the school 45 minutes after Sunita's body was spotted. Policebelieve she reached the terrace on the third floor of the school building eitherduring or after the exam. Most of the terrace has no railing. Onehas to scale a brick wall erected around two classrooms located in a corner ofthe terrace to get into the open area. Police suspect Sunita scaled this brickwall after reaching the third floor from her second-floor examhall.Sunita's father Radheshyam owns a paan shop located justoutside the school's boundary wall on Howrah's Chinatamoni Dey Road. Radheshyamwas in his shop when his daughter jumped to her death. Just off this road isChintamoni Dey Lane where Sunita's family lives. Sunita had foursiblings three sisters and a brother. She was the third child. Sunita's sisterswere in a state of shock. Her uncle Dinesh Bhagat said he had no clue as to whatdrove Sunita to take her life. "She was a quiet girl," he said. Acase of unnatural death has been lodged by Howrahpolice.