bhopal

Updated: Sep 22, 2013 15:43 IST

A 15-year-old Dalit boy forced to strip in class by his teacher died at a Bhopal hospital on Sunday, after he attempted suicide four days ago.

The Class 9 student Rohit Mehra had attempted suicide by hanging himself at his home in Hoshangabad, 77 km from the state capital, after his teacher had forced him to remove trousers in front of his classmates, including girls, on September 17.

The teacher suspected him of cheating during the quarterly examination.

Rohit was a student at the Higher Secondary School in Seoni Malwa. His mother found him hanging and rushed him to the district hospital.

After his condition deteorirated, a critical Rohit was sent to a hospital in Bhopal, where he succumbed to his injuries today.

The preliminary inquiry by education department found that the teacher, Pramod Prajapati, had asked Rohit to open his belt and then pull down his trousers during the examination.

This is the second such incident in the state recently. Another boy, 13-year-old Sagar, coming from an underprivileged background, had committed suicide after a teacher insulted him for wearing torn trousers to his school in Singrauli recently. The boy had later died in the hospital.