London: A 15-year-old Indian-origin boy hanged himself to death allegedly after being bullied in a school in the city of Leicester in the East Midlands region of England.
Brandon Singh Rayat died in August but his mother, Mina Rayat, decided to speak out on Monday at the start of National Anti-Bullying Week.
“I begged doctors to hospitalise him because it was all too much.I told them he wanted to kill himself,” she told Leicester Mercury newspaper.
“Although Brandon received help, he was never detained. His anxiety got worse so that it became a complete phobia. He wouldn’t leave the house in case he bumped into anyone from school,” the 44-year-old added.A full inquest into Brandon’s death will take place in January.
He was found hanged in his bedroom with a scarf on August 9, after several failed suicide attempts including drinking bleach as well as slashing his wrists.
The teenager became suicidal after his schoolmates started calling him a “paedo” and a “faggot” as part of prolonged cyber attacks.
He stopped attending Judgemeadow Community College in Leicester last November.
Mina, a hair and beauty therapist who lives with her 41-year-old husband Raj, a shop worker, said, “We feel totally let down, by both the school and by the doctors.”
James McKenna, principal of Judgemeadow Community College, said: “The whole school was extremely saddened by Brandon’s death, and our thoughts remain with his family. It wouldn’t be appropriate to comment in detail in advance of the coroner’s inquest, but we can say that Judgemeadow takes the welfare of its pupils very seriously and does not tolerate bullying in any form.”
