A 17-year-old student ended her life by jumping from the college building in Visakhapatnam on Friday. Mentioning the reason behind her suicide, the minor girl said that she was sexually harassed at the college campus and could not complain to the institution’s authorities or the police because her harassers had taken photos of her and had threatened to post them on social media.
In her text message to her sister before ending her life, which is being considered as a ‘suicide note’ by the police, the teenager has alleged sexual harassment and stated that alike her, many other girls in the college have been facing the same issue.
According to NDTV, the girl in her last text to her sister apologised for her action and wrote, “Sorry didi, I have to go.”
The teenager was a student of a polytechnic college in Visakhapatnam and her family, which lives in neighbouring Anakapalle district of Andhra Pradesh, got a call from the institute’s authorities around 10 pm on Thursday after she had gone missing. When she did not answer her phone for some time, the family informed the police. Around 12.50 am on Friday, the girl finally responded to frantic messages from her family and asked them not to be tense.
“Don’t get tense, listen to me, I can’t tell you why I am leaving and, even if I do, you won’t understand. Please forget about me. I am really sorry. Mom and dad, I am grateful that you gave birth to me and brought me up. My chapter is coming to an end,” she wrote in Telugu.
She also congratulated her elder sister in the text as she is expecting a baby. Further mentioning her younger sister, she said, “Focus on your future and study whatever you like. Don’t get distracted, don’t be influenced by others, unlike me. Always be happy, and have a good life.”
Addressing her father specifically, the teenager wrote, “You may ask why I am not complaining to the faculty, but that won’t help. They (her harassers) have taken my photos and are threatening me. There are other girls as well. We aren’t being able to tell anyone and we are not being able to avoid college either. We are caught in between. If I file a police complaint or approach the authorities, they will release my photos on social media.”
Following her message, the family pleaded her not to take any decision and informed her that the police were on the way. However, they got no response. The teenager’s body was found some time later.
Meanwhile, the college’s principal said that men cannot access the women’s hostel. “We keep observing all students. Men cannot go to the girls’ hostel. There are women wardens, so there is no chance of sexual harassment,” he claimed.
The police have launched an investigation into the matter and is questioning the faculty members and other students.
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