As if deriding the self-proclaimed pro-poor credentials of the Telangana government, a 15-year-old schoolboy and son of a small farmer threw himself before a running train in Karimnagar district of Telangana after he was insulted by his teacher for not paying school fees.
Before killing himself, the boy, Santosh Reddy, made his dying declaration one that won’t be easily forgotten by recording his last message as a video on his mobile phone.
In the video addressed to his mother, Santosh, from Abbapur village of Dharmaram mandal, urged her not to wait for him and declared that he was “leaving”. He specifically mentioned that the teacher had asked him about the fee and kept many students outside the classroom over it. He was yet to pay up Rs 7,000 to the school. He was afraid of losing out the upcoming quarterly examination because of it.
Santosh said that he considered all options and that he was aware of “everything”, meaning the financial situation of the family. He recalled, in the video, that the family had paid Rs 5,000 as fees recently. He mentioned that his teacher had beaten him up on 30 September. He declared twice in the video that he was dying.
He came home from school for lunch on Wednesday and left a small note about the ‘selfie video’ he had recorded for his mother and his father Srinivas Reddy, who is a poor farmer.
The boy’s body was spotted on Thursday night.
On finding the note, the stunned parents frantically searched their relatives’ houses and lodged a complaint with the Dharmaram police. The railway police at Peddapalli, some 50 km from Dharmaram, meanwhile, received a complaint about an unidentified body on the railway tracks. The details of the missing boy matched with the recovered body.
Santosh’s father Srinivas Reddy said on Friday that he had informed the school management that he would pay the remaining fees to the school as soon as possible and he had told his son the same even on Wednesday.
District Collector of Karimnagar Nitu Kumari Prasad has ordered an enquiry into the incident. The police inquired with the students, who also told the probe panel led by Regional Joint Director of Education Balaiah, District Educational Officer K Lalitha Devi and Mandal Education Officer Rajamallaiah that 11 of them were beaten by the teacher for failing to pay.
The Deputy Superintendent of Police N Malla Reddy said that the Dharmaram police has booked a case of abetting suicide against the school management. Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana, Kadiyam Srihari, has asked DEO Lalitha Devi to initiate action against the institution.
The state, where more than 10 poor farmers are killing themselves daily, surprisingly continues to remain out of the media glare. The story of this boy should make the country take note.