A day after Archana Arora, a Class XII student of Seth Surajmal Jalan Balika Vidyalaya, committed suicide by jumping off the sixth floor of her school building, the family is unwilling to point fingers.
?My mother has fainted several times since yesterday. We are still in the dark about what prompted Archana to kill herself. We have heard that the teacher made her stand outside the classroom for coming late and she took the extreme measure for that. But now we do not want to blame anyone for her death,? said Deepti, Archana?s elder sister.
Asked whether they would lodge a complaint against the school authorities, she said: ?She is not alive any longer. Now there is no point in lodging a complaint. Had she been alive, we would have done something, ? mumbled Deepti.
Investigation revealed that Archana, accompanied by three classmates, had gone to drink water before the second period began at 12.15 pm.
When the four returned around 12.25 pm, the English class was on and the teacher made them stand outside the classroom. Feeling humiliated, Archana went upstairs and jumped off. Hearing a thud, the teachers came out and were shocked after seeing her lying in a pool of blood. Archana was rushed to Shree Vishuddhanand Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Deputy commissioner of police (central) Ajay Kumar said the family of the deceased had not lodged any complaint with the police so far.
?We have not received any complaint against the school authorities. It was a tragic incident and a probe is on to ascertain what led Archana to commit suicide.?
After post-mortem, Archana?s body was handed over to her family on Thursday.
The school authorities are unwilling to admit that Archana committed suicide after being made to stand outside her class for coming late.
?She was a brilliant student and was very popular both among teachers and students,? the school?s secretary Nandalal Singhania said.
Justifying the teacher?s decision, Dinanath Pandey, office-in-charge of the school, said: ?It is normal practice in all schools.?
