15-yr-old hangs self, kin donates her eyes

Mumbai: A 15-year-old girl committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan of her house at Balkum in Thane. The deceased, Rachana Suryakant Shinge, was a class 10 student of Bedekar School.

Rachana was found hanging from the ceiling by her mother on Thursday morning, following which her body was sent for post mortem at a Thane hospital, where later the teenager’s parents also donated her eyes. The Kapurbawadi police has registered an accidental death report in the case.

According to the police sources, Rachana was not interacting well with parents or her friends for the past week. Since class 10 students are on a preparatory leave for board exams, Rachana was at home on Thursday morning. Rachana’s mother, a beautician by profession, had gone out to do some chores and her father had gone to office, which is when Rachana is suspected to have hanged herself to death with the help of a dupatta.

Upon Rachana’s mother’s arrival, the teenager did not open the door despite knocking for more than 10 minutes. When the knocking went unanswered for 20 minutes, Rachana’s uncle broke the door only to find her hanging on a ceiling fan. 

The parents then rushed Rachana to Mauli Hospital in Thane, where she was declared brought dead. Rachana’s parents then did the greater good by donating her eyes to a hospital in Thane.

Vijay Darekar, senior police inspector of Kapurbawadi police station, said, “We got a call from the hospital at 11.30 am, where the teenager was declared dead. We found no suicide note at the spot, and have registered an accidental death report. The investigation is underway.”