Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday urged the Kerala government to find out the truth behind the death of a 15-year-old Class IX student who jumped to his death on January 15 and asked the school to not cover up the events surrounding the death.
“The school authorities should have the courage to acknowledge the realty of this crime, accept responsibility and not attempt to cover it up. It is their duty, and the duty of the state government to do all they can to provide justice,” Priyanka wrote on her X (previously known as Twitter) handle.
On January 15, the boy jumped from the 26th floor flat where the family lived in Kochi's Thripunithara, an hour after his return from school where he was allegedly ragged and bullied till his last day.
The boy’s mother has written to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office, as well as the state director general of police and the child welfare commission seeking a probe into the reasons behind her child’s death.
She has also accused the vice principal of the school where he studied till October 2024 of having played “an integral role in affecting my son’s mental health – that further led to him taking his life in the most gruesome manner.”
The letter to the vice principal refers to how the boy was humiliated during a meeting with the vice principal where the parents were also present, a week-long suspension, being made to take his exams in isolation, and being dropped from the basketball team.
Sourced by the correspondent
The mother said she were trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle that could provide answers to why her son chose to end his life.
The family has alleged the boy was bullied for his skin colour, beaten and abused which went on even on his last day.
“He was forcibly taken to the washroom, made to lick a toilet seat, and had his head pushed into the toilet while it was flushed. These acts of cruelty broke him in ways we cannot fathom,” the mother wrote.
The mother also alleged that the school authorities had forced some of the students who had started an Instagram page seeking justice for her son to remove the page.
Priyanka, a first-time MP and a mother of two, said reading the letter broke her heart.
“As mothers, all we wish for, is the safety and happiness of our children. I cannot even imagine the pain and anger she must feel to know that her child was tortured and hounded in the way she has described. Her fight for justice is an act of bravery and fortitude,” Priyanka wrote.
“How can we allow children to be subjected to this kind of cruelty and criminality and do nothing? It’s about time strict laws are brought in to prevent ragging and protect young people who deserve safety and support as they build their futures.”