Girl, 13, hangs self as dad insulted over fees

A 13-year-old girl committed suicide after her father was allegedly humiliated by her schoolteachers and forcibly taken by the police over pending school fees in Sihani Gate area on Wednesday.

A group of teachers barged into the house of Ratan Singh Tomar, a security guard, and demanded Rs 11,000 in outstanding fees of his three children. Tomar’s three children, Priyanshi, Anushka and Krishna, were the student of Class 8, 4 and 2 respectively in DSP School, said the police. “Ratan terminated his children from the school over hike in fees by the school management as he was unable to bear it. He admitted his children in another school in the same locality,” said a senior police official.

According to the father, a teacher of DSP School, who had come to recover pending dues, had slapped him with footwear. “I kept pleading with them that my wife has gone to her native village in Jalaun to arrange money. I promised them to pay back the entire amount as soon my wife returns, but the teachers got infuriated and abused me,” said the victim’s father. “To teach me a lesson, one of the teachers reportedly called the cops, falsely claiming misbehaviour and assault. The policemen assaulted me and took me to the police station,” he added.

When the father was in police custody, the student, who was alone in the house, hanged herself from a window with her scarf. She was distressed that her father had been taken to the police station because of her education, said the police.

The police has arrested three women teachers and two male staff, including the principal of the school.