A 17-year-old Dalit boy, Shreyas, who was allegedly harassed by his teachers at a Bengaluru school, died by suicide on 27 September at his residence in Ullal Upanagara. Shreyas’s parents were not at home and his body was discovered by a neighbour. It was not until the next day that the parents found a suicide note written by the class 10 student.
The school has been booked based on the family’s allegation that the authorities mentally and physically harassed the boy by beating him and hurling casteist abuses. Jnanabharathi police station in Bengaluru West has registered an FIR and booked St. Patrick Memorial High School under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Speaking about the harassment, Mara Hanumaiah, Shreyas’s father, said, “The teachers asked me to come to school one day and when I went they complained that he was not studying well. After two days, I saw that they've beaten up my son. His mouth and nose were bleeding. The school told me that my son had injured himself by falling down but I learnt that the maths teacher named Dilip had abused him. I hesitated to go to the police because my son is in class 10 and I didn't want this to be a reason for him to quit school for now.”
After the initial abuse, Hanumaiah had approached the school management and raised the issue with them. While he was assured that no such thing would take place again, he alleged that his son was abused by his maths teacher even after that because he was angry that Hanumaiah had taken the matter up to authorities. “Shreyas looked stressed and upset for quite some time now but we thought that he was worried about his studies and exams since he was in class 10. We had no idea he was going through so much in school,” recalled Hanumaiah.
Hanumaiah in his complaint requested the police officers to check the CCTV cameras which captured the initial abuse. However, while speaking to TNM he alleged that the police refused to check the footage and said that it has been deleted since the incident is two months old. They also said that he should have reached out to them when the abuse took place initially.
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.
Tamil Nadu
State health department's suicide helpline: 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)
Andhra Pradesh
Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930
Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584
Karnataka
Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222
Kerala
Maithri: 0484 2540530
Chaithram: 0484 2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Telangana
State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104
Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200
SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm)
Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one. 24x7 Helpline: 9820466726
Click here for working helplines across India.