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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, January 5: “The break finished around 12.30 p.m. and at 12.40 I was told by one of the peons that a student was standing on the third-floor parapet. As he rushed towards the stairs, I saw her landing like a dummy on the stage area,” recalls P. Dutta, principal of Kulachi Hans Raj Public School, Ashok Vihar, still shaky a day after the incident. As the Class VIII student lies in the ICU of Sunder Lal Jain Hospital with multiple fractures in her pelvis, left arm and collar bone, her relations wonder what led the 13-year-old to take such a step.
Reconstructing the events of the day, her classmates say she had been particularly quiet. They found her sitting with her head down and had even asked her if anything was bothering her. She had reportedly brushed them off.
The girl is said to have kept to herself during the break. Some sections of Class VIII are on the third floor, but both sections D (in which she was studying) and G are on the second floor.
The authorities found a note in her pocket in which the girl had said she wished to donate her organs. She had given a similar note to her Moral Science teacher. The girl apparently went to meet the teacher during the break reportedly for counselling.
The teacher had been busy and the girl was only able to hand over the note. In it, the girl reportedly asked the teacher to help her cope. She had also said in so many words that it could even lead to her harming someone or herself someday.
The principal describes her as an average student. She had reportedly not fared too well in her science tests, the results of which were handed out only that day. According to her father, the school is handing out statements about her being depressed “just to save their skins”. “We don’t want any prosecutions, but are upset by these justifications being handed out by the school. As far as we know she is a very happy child and okay with her studies as well. She is also well taken care of at home, being the only daughter in our family. These statements are bothering us all. But even if she was disturbed over something, wasn’t it the responsibility of the school to inform us. Whatever happened to their watch and ward scheme?” According to the police, they are waiting for the girl’s condition to stabilise. “We don’t want to jump to any conclusions and will wait for her to give a statement when she is fit and proper. Especially since any haste could mean one year of punishment for attempted suicide”.
Meanwhile her classmates in Class VIII-D describe her as a nice girl who makes friends easily. Says Nidhi Agarwal: “Though she does not have a very close friend in our section, she gets along with almost everybody in the class. She never seemed suicidal. She happens to be the only daughter in a joint family with seven brothers and is well-loved.” According to the students, she excelled in sports, especially basketball. But she was also described as a person who reacted “too soon over things”.
