Ashamed of 71 per cent score, girl hangs self in Malwani

Mumbai: At a time when more than 13,000 students who appeared for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations from Mumbai have scored more than 90 per cent and pressure on teenagers to excel academically is mounting, a 17-year-old girl — who scored 71 per cent — hanged herself on Friday as she was unhappy with her performance.

The deceased, Malwani resident Shilpa Kundar, had expected to score 90 per cent.

According to police sources, on learning about her performance in school, an ashamed Shilpa went home weeping on Friday. Since she was inconsolable, Shilpa’s mother tried her best to cheer her up and explained to her that 71 per cent was not a bad score. The girl, however, locked herself up in her room and refused to come out. Later, when Shilpa’s mother left the house in the evening, the girl took a dupatta from her wardrobe and hanged herself from a ceiling fan at 9.30 pm.

On discovering the teenager’s body, it was rushed to the nearest local hospital, where Shilpa was declared dead before arrival.

Deepak Phatangare, senior police inspector of Malvani police station, said, “We have registered an accidental death report, and have sent the body for a post-mortem. The cause of death is asphyxia.”

Students are under pressure from parents and relatives to score well, and if they fail to secure a good score, they have to deal with pressure, said a police officer.

A similar incident took place in Nashik on Friday afternoon when a 16-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide. Sakshi Eknath Bendkule, a resident of Panchavati, hanged herself in her house, hours after the declaration of the Class 10 results.