Suicide
'Sorry didi, I have to go': Visakhapatnam college student alleges sexual assault, dies by suicide
Hyderabad/IBNS: A 17-year-old student in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam has died by suicide after jumping off her college building.
In a long text to her family minutes before she took the plunge, the student said she was sexually harassed at the college and could not complain to the institution's authorities or the police as her harassers had taken photos of her and had threatened to post them on social media.
In the heart-rending messages, the girl told her family that some of her fellow students in the college had also faced sexual assault.
She then addressed her elder sister, writing, "Sorry didi, I have to go."
The teenager was a student of a polytechnic college in Visakhapatnam while her family lives in neighbouring Anakapalle district of Andhra Pradesh.
The family had got a call from the institute's authorities around 10 pm on Thursday that she had gone missing. After they failed to get her on phone for some time, the family informed the police.
Around 12.50 am on Friday, the girl finally responded to frantic messages from her family and asked them not to be tense.
"Don't get tense, listen to me, I can't tell you why I am leaving and, even if I do, you won't understand. Please forget about me. I am really sorry. Mom and dad, I am grateful that you gave birth to me and brought me up. My chapter is coming to an end," she wrote in Telugu.
Congratulating her elder sister, who is expecting a baby, she also had a message for her younger sister, "Focus on your future and study whatever you like. Don't get distracted, don't be influenced by others, unlike me. Always be happy, and have a good life."
Then, addressing her father specifically, the teenager wrote that she was taking the step as she was sexually harassed in college. "You may ask why I am not complaining to the faculty, but that won't help. They (her harassers) have taken my photos and are threatening me. There are other girls as well. We aren't being able to tell anyone and we are not being able to avoid college either. We are caught in between. If I file a police complaint or approach the authorities, they will release my photos on social media.”
"The reason I am taking this decision is that if I go away now, you will feel bad for a few years and you will forget later. But, if I am around, you will look at me and feel bad all the time," she told her father before leaving a final message for her elder sister: "Sorry didi, I made you all tense, but I have to go".
The family responded immediately and told her that the police were on the way while pleading with her not to make any rash decisions. However, they got no response.
The teenager's body was found some time later.
The girl's father said a police complaint has been filed. "I need to know why my daughter died. I brought her up with great love and care. She got good marks in her Class 10 exams and we got her admitted to this college believing that she would get a good education here."
The police are now questioning the college staff, faculty members and other students.
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