Kannur: It was a proud moment for the Maloor village in Kannur when Rafseena of Sivapuram Higher Secondary School scored a record 1,180 marks out of 1,200 in the higher secondary results published on Monday. However, now the villagers are mourning her as she was found hanging in her house at 4.45 p.m. on Wednesday unable to bear the humiliation of a different kind that she suffered from the publicity she gained.
She left a suicide note which, according to the police, hinted at the fact that she was depressed by the reports of her poor background which she had hidden from her classmates.
Rafseena was living in a single-room house at Maloor Nittaramb Laksham Veedu colony along with her mother Rahmath, a daily wage labourer, and two siblings.
Abootty is her father. Elder sister Manzina is studying in Thiruvananthapuram and brother Maharoof is working in Bangalore.
Rafseena had scored 96 per cent marks in Plus-One. After reading her story from newspapers, many individuals, including Kannur MP P.K. Sreemathy, and voluntary organisations had offered sponsorship for her further studies.
A large number of people, including political leaders, visited Rafseena's house.
The Peravoor police registered a case and started investigations.
The incident has led to heated discussions on the social media about the flaws in the education system and the coverage of such success stories. Rafseena's body was buried after inquest on Thursday.
