Plus-two student in Coimbatore hangs herself after 'sexually harassed' by a teacher; accused held

COIMBATORE: The parents of a plus-two student who hanged herself in Coimbatore on Thursday alleged that their daughter faced sexual harassment from a teacher leading her to resort to the extreme step.

The deceased has been identified as Pon Tharani, 17, daughter of Magudeswaran of Kottaimedu in Coimbatore. Pon Tharani was studying plus-two in Chinmaya Vidyalaya Matriculation School where she was sexually harassed by a teacher. She brought this to the notice of her parents and she had shifted to another school a couple of months ago. However, she was reportedly traumatized by the incident.

Sources said that on Thursday when there was no one in the house, Pon Tharani locked the door from inside and hanged herself from the ceiling fan.

Following this, her parents lodged a complaint with the Ukkadam police. In their complaint, her parents said that their daughter had left a suicide note naming a school teacher and a couple of others who sexually harassed her.

The victim's parents and relatives also staged a protest on Friday demanding to arrest the private school teacher. Following this, the teacher Mithun Chakravarthy has been taken into custody. He was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and also under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 306 (Abetment of suicide). 

Earlier, the school reportedly took action against the teacher based on the sexual harassment complaint.

(To overcome suicidal thoughts, contact Tamil Nadu Health Department’s helpline 104, Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050, or N Damodaran Centenary Lifeline Number for Suicide Prevention 1800-121-203040 or ‘Vidiyal’ suicide prevention helpline run by Coimbatore police 0422-2300999.)