A 17-year-old girl took her own life by jumping from a building during the night between March 28 and 29. She did this because she said some people she didn’t know had threatened to share embarrassing pictures of her on social media.
Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh Police arrested five people on Tuesday for their involvement in the suicide of a minor girl student. The girl had accused officials at her college of sexually harassing her.
A 17-year-old girl died by suicide by jumping off a building on March 28 or 29. She believed that unidentified individuals were threatening to post her embarrassing pictures on social media.
Police arrested five persons from Kommadi Chaitanya Polytechnic College in the port city. Those arrested were: N Shankar Rao, chemistry lab technician, Shankar Varma, head of college management, G Bhanu Praveen, principal, V Usha Rani, hostel warden and V Pradeep Kumar, husband of Rani.
Visakhapatnam North Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) B Sunil informed PTI that initial investigations suggest Rao as the individual who allegedly sexually harassed the deceased student.
“Shankar Rao is not admitting but in our investigation all the girls have pointed the finger at him. The girl’s close friends have also said that. He will be interrogated further,” said Sunil.
The arrested persons were booked under IPC Sections 305, 354 A, 354 C, 506, Section 12 of POCSO Act and other sections under the Prohibition of Ragging Act.
The ACP mentioned that the five arrested individuals will be presented in front of a judge on Wednesday.
Previously, C Nagarani, Director of Technical Education in Andhra Pradesh, stated that she established a committee to investigate the incident, and the report is currently awaited.
“C Nagarani informed PTI that a thorough investigation is underway regarding the incident, with individuals being summoned to the police station daily.”
C Nagarani reported that out of the seven teachers of the student, five were women, while the remaining two were men, one being the college principal and the other an engineering drawing teacher.
Additionally, she mentioned that the police are also questioning the lab assistants in connection with the incident.
The police have interrogated the college management, the student’s friends, roommates, parents, regular contacts, and suspects to uncover the truth. However, the ACP emphasized that the girl was not raped.
He said the final post-mortem report is awaited.
Furthermore, officials highlighted that the student from the private college had irregular attendance. They are also considering investigating her psychological state.
