Student death: Gauri Neha's family to start stir

KOLLAM: The family of Gauri Neha, 15, who jumped from the Trinity Lyceum school following mental torture by teachers, will stage a hunger strike till death in front of the school seeking action against the culprits behind her death. Gauri's father Prasannakumar alleged that class teacher Cresence Navis had been mentally torturing the girl for the last one year threatening to cut short her internal marks and deny her permission to attend public examinations.

"The teacher had a grudge against my daughter for not attending tuition classes run by her. She had complained about this to the principal and the management. They should also be included in the accused list for the death of my daughter," Prasannakumar of Makkatt Kizhakkathil, Kannimelcheri, Sakthikulangara said. Gauri was a bold girl and there was no possibility of her committing suicide, he said. "When I spoke to her at the hospital when she was conscious, she said 'no' to the question whether she had jumped from the school. The girl was taken to the hospital run by the same management. It is mysterious that the girl later became unconscious. This should be inquired," he said.

Meanwhile, the school management has constituted a 13-member council, including PTA members, politicians and management representatives to convene a meeting under the district collector to ensure the smooth functioning of the school. Gauri, a 10th standard student, jumped from the second floor of the primary block of the school on Friday and succumbed to her injuries in a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. The police had registered a case against two teachers, Sindhu Paul and Cresence Nevis, in connection with the incident and charged them under sections 511, 305, 34 of IPC, including abetment of suicide.

The teachers are absconding and they have been suspended by the school management. According to the statement given by Gauri's father, she was mentally tortured by her sister's class teacher which provoked her to take the extreme step. Gauri's sister studying in 8th standard in the same school was made to sit among boys as a disciplinary action. This was questioned by Gauri and the incidents that followed led to the teacher scolding her.