Denied mobile, 2 students end lives in West Bengal

KOLKATA/GARBETA: A Class-XI student, who was upset with her parents, who had asked her to concentrate on offline studies and forced her to stay away from social media on her mobile phone, was found hanging at her residence in Behala’s Parnasree on Friday.
The girl reportedly had an argument with her father on Thursday night, after which her mobile was taken away.
In a similar incident reported from Garbeta in West Midnapore, a Class-XII student, died by suicide after reportedly being scolded by her parents for being on her mobile for a long time. They had asked her to keep the mobile phone switched off, but she refused. On Saturday, the girl set herself on fire at her residence in Garbeta.
The Behala youngster had been given her mobile for her online classes a couple of years ago. She would stay up late at night and chat with her friends, neglecting her studies, the police said. “It is too early to comment on the exact reason for suicide. But, prima facie, the Thursday evening argument seems to have played a major role,” said an officer.
According to Parnasree Police, it was around 3 pm on Friday that they received an information from Vidyasagar Hospital police outpost that the victim has been brought dead.
The girl was a student of Class XI at a reputable Bengali medium school in Behala. During inquiry no suicide note was found from the spot and no complaint has yet been received. “An inquest and post mortem will be done,” said an officer from Parnasree Police.