On Saturday (March 16), a 14-year-old Karnataka student committed suicide after being strip-searched with four other classmates following a theft report on campus. The girl committed suicide on the school campus in Bengaluru two days after being strip-searched by officials.
Police said the deceased and four other female students at a government school in Bagalkot, north Karnataka, were hauled up after a language teacher suspected them of stealing Rs 2,000.
The teaching staff, including the headmaster, allegedly forced the girls to strip before taking them to a nearby temple to “prove” their innocence.
According to Bagalkot SP Amarnath Reddy, the deceased’s elder sister, who attends the same school, alerted their parents about the incident on campus. The girl, described as “sensitive” by her family, appears to have brooded about it for a few days before committing suicide.
After learning about the circumstances surrounding her death, authorities initiated an inquiry on their own accord.
As per the latest update, a case has been registered at the police station against two teachers under section 306 (abatement to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The investigations are ongoing.