Gujarat: Unwilling to go back to school, 12-year-old Surat boy hangs self

SURAT: In a shocking incident, a 12-year-old boy decided to take his own life as cops suspect that he did not want to go to school which reopened recently after a gap of nearly 18-long months owing to the pandemic.
Parth Sahu, a student of class VIII, ended his life by hanging in the bathroom of his home in Pandesara on Friday. Family members were horrified to see him hanging in the bathroom in the evening after he had returned from school normally in the afternoon and also had his meal along with the family. Registering a case of accidental death, Pandesara police started investigating the case and based on preliminary investigation, cops suspect that the boy may have taken the extreme step after his parents didn’t heed to his pleas of not sending him to the school. “It is suspected that the boy did not wish to go to school and he expressed this to his parents recently. Probably he did not like going to school that started offline teaching after a gap of over one and half year,” cops said .

Family members told the police that Parth and his father Rambhan, a grocery shop owner, were resting when the boy excused himself to go to the bathroom. Unaware about his horrific plans, the unsuspecting family members went about in their routine work. Later, when his mother opened the bathroom door in the evening, she found the boy hanging and the family immediately shifted him to the hospital where he was declared brought dead.
The minor used a rope that he found at his home for the act. “The boy tied one end of a black colour rope to the top of the wooden door through a gap and tied another end to his neck. Initially the family was unaware of it all and came to know about the whole thing probably after a couple of hours only,” said a police official.
“It is possible that students, especially young schoolchildren, may not like going back to school owing to the long gap. Some activities should be planned in the school to make kids start liking the idea of going to school again,” said Rudresh Vyas, head of psychology department at MTB Arts College.
Police are yet to record detailed statements of the family members. The traumatized family will register their statement only after final rites.