Bhubaneswar, Jan. 2: The recent case of alleged suicide of a Class VIII student in Deogarh after being subjected to humiliation following a strip search has evoked sharp reaction from several quarters.
The incident happened at the Kundigola High School in Riamal block of Deogarh district on December 28. A student of Class VIII complained to the school headmaster that Rs 110 was missing from her pencil box.
The headmaster entrusted a teacher with the responsibility of finding out the culprit. In course of investigation, the teacher reportedly strip searched as many as 30 students of the class and in the process found the stolen amount from Sani Sahoo, who was a student of the class.
Unable to bear the humiliation, the student apparently attempted suicide by consuming poison on her way back home, her parents said. On the way to the hospital, Sahoo died.On November 15, a 16-year-old student of the city’s Jupiter Plus two Science College hanged himself after being humiliated by the hostel superintendent for using an iPod-like gadget to view objectionable contents.
On July 26, a 15-year-old in Bhubaneswar committed suicide in fear of being teased at by his classmates and teachers for having defecated in his pants inside the classroom. The deceased was found hanging from a neem tree. The increasing number of teen suicides in the state has evoked varied reactions.
Calling it a “disturbing trend” eminent psychologist and social activist Kasturi Ray said: “Sensitive cases like this should be effectively handled by the teacher in the first phase. Fellow students too, should have been more understanding and empathetic towards their peer instead of insulting them and humiliating them for some wrong doings. Similarly at home, parents should properly counsel and support their wards. Adolescence is a crucial phase in the life of a youth and in all the recent cases it was shame that drove the students to such extreme steps.”
“A Class VIII student is a grown-up child. It is an age when one can understand the humiliation of being strip searched and then caught for theft. She might have committed the theft under certain circumstances. But possible taunts and comments by her friends and teachers might have drove her to suicide,” said Banita Mahapatra, a psychology student.
“The teacher should have used some other way to frisk students. Probably stripping might have caused her humiliation. In any case, a precious life was lost. Teachers should be specially trained at handling adolescent students, as they are very sensitive,” said Sujata Mahakud, a teacher.
