Mumbai: HSC student sets herself on fire, dies

Mumbai: A standard XII student, Sharvari Nerkar, 17, committed suicide by setting herself afire with kerosene on the terrace of her building in Kalyan on Thursday night. Police suspects that she was depressed since her father passed away around six months ago.

However, Nerkar did not leave behind any suicide note and police is gathering evidence to establish the motive behind her suicide, according to a source. Police is also examining whether she was suffering from any study-related stress. Police is quizzing the family’s neighbours and relatives and is yet to find out the version of the deceased’s mother, elder sister, and younger brother who are in a state of shock, the source said.

Nerkar was staying with her mother and two siblings in a residential complex at Kolshewadi, Kalyan. She was studying at Kamladevi Junior College, Kalyan. The family owned a medical shop which was being handled by Nerkar’s mother, hence, the children would stay alone in the house the whole day.

A Kolshewadi police officer said, “On Thursday night, we got a call that a girl was found burnt in Kolshewadi area. We immediately went to the spot where on the terrace of the four-storeyed building, we found Nerkar fully burnt and immediately took her to the government hospital in Kalyan where she was declared dead on arrival.

“Her mother and siblings were in shock. After speaking to close relatives and neighbours, we found that she was a very bright student but after her father took ill and passed away last year, she could not focus on her studies. Also, of late, she used to get very stressed over issues related to her studies,” he said.