According to her father’s statement in the FIR, the student regularly faced harassment from the bus driver. “The driver harassed her regularly and she often couldn’t sit in the bus, which caused her significant distress,” he stated.When she approached the principal to lodge a complaint, she allegedly met hostility rather than support. Instead of addressing her concerns, the principal reportedly assaulted her. In frustration, she ultimately jumped from the third floor of the building, her father said. .
Kanpur: An 18-year-old Class 12 student who had jumped from the third floor of her college in Khaga, Fatehpur, on Wednesday and was hospitalised here, died on Saturday. The reason for the extreme step was alleged ongoing harassment by a bus driver and subsequent physical assault by the college principal when she sought his help.
The Fatehpur police have arrested the bus driver, Shiv Charan, 58, while the principal of Saraswati Balika Mandir Inter College, Raj Kapoor Singh, remains at large. (Pic for representation)
The Fatehpur police have arrested the bus driver, Shiv Charan, 58, while the principal of Saraswati Balika Mandir Inter College, Raj Kapoor Singh, remains at large.
Superintendent of police (SP) Fatehpur, Dhaval Jaiswal, confirmed the student’s death and said, “The police are altering the FIR and a section for abetting suicide is being added. The accused will shortly be arrested.”
Both accused have been charged with harassment and aggravated assault in the FIR.
According to her father’s statement in the FIR, the student regularly faced harassment from the bus driver. “The driver harassed her regularly and she often couldn’t sit in the bus, which caused her significant distress,” he stated.
When she approached the principal to lodge a complaint, she allegedly met hostility rather than support. Instead of addressing her concerns, the principal reportedly assaulted her. In frustration, she ultimately jumped from the third floor of the building, her father said. .
Initial police investigations revealed that there was a verbal altercation between Shiv Charan and the student last year. The driver had attempted to drop her off a kilometre from her destination, which she resisted, insisting she would alight closer home. An official said, “Students have told us that Shiv Charan wanted her to get off where other students did, which meant she would have to travel an extra kilometre alone. After that argument, Shiv Charan became increasingly antagonistic towards her.”
The student’s family alleged that the driver often reprimanded her and would leave if she was even a minute late. She faced a daunting 13-kilometre journey to and from her remote village daily. Her complaints to the principal brought her wrath and humiliation. She was once allegedly beaten .
“She was made to stand under the sun for hours; she was rebuked and insulted. It had become routine,” said the student’s father . “When all this became unbearable, I met the principal on Monday, beseeching him to change the driver and telling him about my daughter’s ordeal, but he turned me away as well,” said the father, who is a farmer.
After this, he said, she was punished further. On the fateful day, she was allegedly made to stand under the sun for an entire period. During the fifth period, she asked the subject teacher for permission to attend to nature’s call, as she was not feeling well. Afterwards, she went to the third floor and jumped.
Police officials admitted the principal had a reputation for being a strict disciplinarian and there had been past complaints about his heavy-handed treatment of students. The school has about 2,500 students.
“We are also looking into those complaints. Three teams have been formed to arrest the principal,” said an official.