Sai Deepthi’s mother, Sunitha, breaking down on seeing her daughter’s body

Hyderabad

02 February 2018 23:34 IST

Cases under SC/ST Act against school principal, staff registered

Heart rending scenes were witnessed when the body of the 14-year-old scheduled caste girl, K. Sai Deepthi, was brought home from hospital after post-mortem.

Deepthi hanged herself from the ceiling fan in her house for being barred from writing the class test, when she failed to pay the fee. Deepthi’s father K.S. Balakrishna, a painter, told The Hindu that the Principal of Jyothi High School in Hanumanpet, Malkajgiri, pressurised her to pay dues of ₹1,800 failing which she would not be allowed to write the test. Quoting Deepthi, he said that he teacher insulted her in the class saying, “When you cannot pay the fee, SC students should not take admission in schools.” He said Deepthi came back from school at around 11 a.m. after being withheld from taking the test. “At 3.30 p.m., Latha, her sister, went to the bank to check her scholarship money. While leaving home, Deepthi asked her to get some fruits and curd. By the time Latha came back, Deepthi had hung herself.”

Mr. Balakrishna said the school management humiliated his daughter that led her to take the extreme step. Police recovered a suicide note from their house, which read, “They didn’t allow me to write the exam. Sorry Mom.” SC unions protested at Tukaramgate, with the girl’s body placed in an auto trolley.

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Meanwhile, based on Mr. Balakrishna’s complaint, police have registered cases under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and IPC against school principal Gatla Lakshmi (46), class teacher Arepally Satyanarayana Raj (30) and cashier Sheikh Sajida (31), who were also remanded to judicial custody.