47 minutes ago
6
ARTICLE AD BOX
Parents of a nine-year-old girl, who died by suicide at Jaipur’s Neerja Modi School last year, have released new CCTV footage of the child’s classroom with her child’s father saying that his daughter was “visibly distressed” and that the same can be seen in the video.
The student had allegedly died by suicide on November 1 last year after jumping from school’s fourth floor following bullying by her classmates while the class teacher allegedly paid no heed to her complaints.
In the video, as per the parents, she was allegedly subjected to repeated bullying by her classmates. She then also approaches the class teacher multiple times but allegedly, there is no resolution and she then storms outside the classroom, climbs the stairs, and died by suicide from the fourth floor.
Speaking on the recently filed chargesheet and the classroom CCTV video, her father Vijay Meena said that, “We believe that the chargesheet is incomplete because the CCTV footage clearly shows that she was visibly distressed in the classroom and was repeatedly approaching the class teacher to make her understand… but she wasn’t provided with any protection or counselling.”
He said that the police filed a chargesheet over 8 months on and that the school owner Saurabh Modi, principal Indu Dubey and class teacher Puneeta Sharma have been charged under BNS section 106 (causing death by negligence) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender). The class teacher Sharma has also been charged under section 75 (punishment for cruelty to child) of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, Meena said.
“So, our demand is that the class teacher be also charged with abetment to suicide, while both the school owner and principal should be charged with section 75 of the JJ Act as a child’s safety, supervision, protection and well-being within school premises is the responsibility of school management and principal,” he said, adding that three Investigating Officers (IO) have already been changed in the case in the last eight months and they don’t want the IO to be changed once again.
“Our demand is straight-forward, the court should seriously consider the shortcomings in the chargesheet and that the accused be arrested,” he said. The owner and the principal could not be reached for comments.
Story continues below this ad
Last year, a CBSE fact finding committee, apparently citing the same video, had said that, “The submission of the school that, on the day of the incident, the child approached the class teacher for assistance and that the class teacher heard the concerned students, including the deceased child, as allegedly reflected in the video footage, is not tenable and does not absolve the school management or the teachers of their responsibility to effectively address the issue.”
“As already noted, the school was not maintaining the mandated audio-visual recording system in accordance with the Board’s circular. Consequently, there is no verifiable record of the nature, content, or adequacy of the interaction that transpired between the child and the teacher. This lapse further reinforces the finding that the school failed to intervene in a timely and meaningful manner despite repeated and continuing concerns relating to the child’s mental harassment and wellbeing,” the committee had said.
Noting the incident as “completely preventable” it had said that her parents “had repeatedly raised concerns with the class teachers regarding incidents of bullying by other students and had expressed serious apprehensions about the school’s inaction” but that the school confined its response merely to the parent teacher meetings “without initiating any structured, vigilant, or proactive measures such as counselling, intervention, or sensitization of the concerned students, including the classmates of the deceased child.”
The committee had also found that the school had allegedly “removed the blood from the spot of the fall… The spot constitutes a critical area for forensic evidence and investigation, yet it was cleared by the school within minutes of the incident.”
Story continues below this ad
The CBSE had also withdrawn the school’s affiliation for senior secondary school examination while allowing students of Class 10 and 12 to appear in the academic session 2025-26. However, students of Class 9 and 11 were directed to be shifted to a nearby school beginning with the 2026-27.
But subsequently, the school got interim relief from the High Court which stayed CBSE’s de-affiliation order and gave time to the school to cure deficiencies.
Meanwhile, Sanyukt Abhibhavak Sangh, an organisation of parents which has been assisting the student’s family with the case, Friday claimed: “According to the available teacher data, out of 102 newly appointed teachers during 2024–26, only 17 were found to be compliant with the prescribed qualification norms, while 85 teachers (approximately 83 per cent) were reported as non-compliant. In the Primary Teacher (PRT) category, all 52 teachers were claimed to be non-compliant with the prescribed qualification requirements. Furthermore, among the 151 currently retained teachers, 115 (approximately 76 per cent) have also been reported to raise serious concerns regarding qualification compliance.”
“Accountability must be fixed on the concerned authorities, school management, and all responsible individuals. The Sangh has demanded a fair, transparent, and time-bound investigation, strict legal action against those found responsible, and stronger enforcement to ensure that no educational institution is allowed to violate statutory norms with impunity,” its spokesperson Abhishek Jain said.
English (US) ·