Students commit suicide

Malda, Feb. 19: Shampa Sarkar, the 17-year-old daughter of a police constable, committed suicide by jumping in front of a goods train on the Malda-Singabad line around seven this morning. A student of Bulbulchandi High School, Shampa was to reappear for a science paper of the Madhyamik exams this year. She had failed in the subject last year.

District superintendent of police Satyajit Banerjee said one of the reasons for Shampa’s suicide might be her phobia about science subjects. The body has been sent for post-mortem.

In another incident, Niren Adhikari (18), a student of Belakoba High School, died at Jalpaiguri District Hospital on Monday night after consuming pesticide.

Dad kills kid

Siliguri: A one-and-a-half-year-old physically challenged girl, Shampa, was strangled to death, allegedly by her father, at Krishnanagar Colony near Ambari, 15km from here, on Monday night. The baby’s father, Ramesh Roy, is a carpenter. Police said he and his wife, Nilima, were often teased by neighbours for giving birth to a challenged child. After killing the girl, the couple had buried the body on the bank of the Sahu. The police exhumed the body on Tuesday and sent it for post-mortem. While Nilima is in police custody, Ramesh is absconding.

Tea notices

Jalpaiguri: The district magistrate of Jalpaiguri on Monday issued show-cause notices to owners of six closed tea gardens — Raipur, Sikarpur and Bhandapur, Samsing, Kalchini, Raimatang and Bharnobari. The owners have been asked to explain why the leases of the gardens should not be cancelled within one month.