Class 9 student from Medavakkam hangs self fearing online exam

Karthik (14), who studied at a private school, was to appear for an online exam at 2.30 pm on Wednesday. As he couldn’t understand the technicalities of the online classes fully, which he attended using a mobile phone, Karthik had reportedly told his parents that he did not want to take the test.

The victim’s father Selvam, who works at a private factory in Vengaivasal, had come home in the afternoon to take his ailing wife to a hospital when Karthik complained to him that he wasn’t prepared for the test and wanted to accompany them to the hospital instead. “But his father refused to take him along and left the teenager alone at home,” a cop said.

When the couple returned, they found the front door locked from inside. When Karthik did not respond to their knocking, they broke open the door and found the boy hanging from the ceiling using a nylon rope. The Pallikaranai police, who rushed to the spot, retrieved the body and have sent it to the Chromepet Government hospital for post mortem. Police have also recovered the mobile phone that Karthik used to attend the classes for further probe.

Meanwhile, the victim’s parents claimed that while their son wasn’t prepared to the take the online exam, he wasn’t depressed or upset to the point of suicide. “The parents suspect that teachers could have scolded him for refusing to take the test which could have led to the suicide,” an officer said.

On September 14, a Class 10 student, Subiksha, from Thirubhuvanam in Sivaganga district had committed suicide as she could not handle the stress of online classes. She had been a recipient of the Chief Minister’s merit award for her academic achievements.