Fear drives boy to suicide

VELLORE: A 17-year-old boy in Ranipet committed suicide fearing he might fare poorly in the plus-two exams just a few hours before the results were announced Friday morning. It turned out Gunaseelan scored 91 per cent and secured third rank in his school.

The boy had left home in Walajapet Sethu Street around five in the morning and was not seen since then. When the results were announced at 10 a.m., he grocer father Needhi Raj was thrilled learning that the boy had scored 1107 marks, around 91 per cent, and secured third-rank in his Ramakrishna higher secondary school at BHEL township in Ranipet. The man went searching for Guna to convey the happy news but could not find the kid. Later, his body was found floating in a nearby well, police said.

Walajapet SI Saravanamurthy said according to Needhi Raj, the boy had been expressing fear that he would not secure good marks in the plus-two exams and fail to secure admission in college for pursuing a degree of his choice. The father kept counseling the boy against unduly worrying and promised he would get him a seat in any college. He also told his son he would not scold him whatever be the marks.

The boy, however, succumbed to his own fears and jumped into a well near his house barely a few hours before the results were to be announced. Classmates gathered at his house on learning about the death and expressed their grief. It was a tragic reiteration of the stress that students these days suffer in their pursuit for big scores. This is yet another case to highlight the need to reintroduce classes in ‘moral science’ to strengthen self-confidence among the students and teach them ethics.