Mumbai: A 12-year-old girl hanged herself to death in Santacruz (E) late on February 12, after her parents scolded her for some incidents of the previous day. First, she was admonished for playing with her siblings and then constantly playing games on her cell phone, instead of studying.
After her mother scolded her for wasting time, she left home and the family was only able to trace her late at night, after which she had promised to be diligent about her academic work. Police suspect she took the drastic step because she was unable to get over the humiliation of being reprimanded.
On Monday, the Class 7 girl played with her siblings for three hours after returning from school, around noon. She was chided for wasting time but undeterred, she then began playing on her mobile phone. Her mother scolded her for constantly playing instead of studying and hit her a few times.
Upset by the scolding, the girl left her home in a huff. When her parents returned from the market in the evening, they did not find her anywhere in the neighbourhood and began searching for her. Hours later, they found her hiding at her friend’s place in Rawalpada and brought her home.
Police said, after the parents brought her home, they got angry with her for running away and scolded her again. The girl cried herself to sleep and refused to go to school the next day. She promised her parents, she would study diligently and do well in her exams. Believing her, the mother left home to run a few errands.
However, soon after her mother left, the 12- year-old girl hanged herself with a dupatta from the ceiling fan. When the girl’s mother returned from the market, she saw her daughter hanging and informed her husband as well as police. The girl was rushed to the civic-run VN Desai Hospital, where she was declared dead before admission.
Kailaschandra Awhad, senior police inspector of Vakola police station said an Accidental Death Report (ADR) has been registered in the matter. “We are awaiting the post-mortem reports from the hospital. We found no suicide note at the spot and prima facie it looks like she took this drastic step for being scolded and pulled up by her parents,” said Awhad.
Police have recorded the statement of the girl’s father, where he said that their daughter was scolded for not studying and continuously playing either on her phone or with her siblings. However, he added, never did he imagine his daughter would think of killing herself over this issue.
