Kolkata girl dead in school washroom: Primary autopsy confirms suicide

Kolkata: Primary autopsy reports of Class X student, who was found dead inside her school washroom on Friday, confirmed suicide.

Police said the primary report mentioned hypoxia or lack of oxygen supply to the brain and body as the cause of death of the student of GD Birla Centre for Education in south Kolkata. The cut mark on her wrist was a second injury, which according to doctors was "self-implicating".

Doctors suspected that the girl died because of the polythene packet that she had tied up with strings, used to bind practical notebooks, to cover her head. The autopsy was done at SSKM hospital on Saturday.

Police also confirmed that the girl had suicidal tendency. Even earlier, she had attempted to take the extreme step at home.

"So far, investigation reveals that it was a case of suicide. While examining her mother, we found out that she had made similar attempts at home earlier," said an investigating official.

Bright, meritorious and trained in self-defence, she was always among the top five rank holders. Police said she had attended five periods before her death and behaved normally. Before leaving her classroom, she had told her friends that she would go to the sick room. However, CCTV footage showed that she instead went to the washroom with a few things in her hand.

"She was missing for 40 minutes and was later found unconscious inside the washroom. Prima facie it appears to be a case of suicide, which very well-planned. She had spoken to her father before school and had asked him to get biryani from Hyderabad, when he returned from there," said an investigating official.

Her three-page suicide note had no overwriting and was flawless, said police. She also described how she was dying and that no one should be held responsible for her death.

"She hasn't held anyone responsible for her death in her suicide note. But her writing shows how upset she was and had a lot of hidden pain. She hasn't addressed anyone in specific in her suicide note. She also thanked her parents for doing their best in her life. But has mentioned about some strange dark side of her life, which isn't clear," said police.

Police suspected she might have consumed something before wrapping her head with a polythine, so that no one could hear her screams. However, that will be cleared in the detailed autopsy report. Police also suspected that she had learnt the procedure by watching web series or movies.

"She was academically brilliant and would complete her syllabus much in advance. Her mother said she had wanted an admission in the Indian Statistical Institute in future and would often talk about it," said police.

Police are now examining her laptops and mobile phones.

Chairperson of West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Ananya Chakraborti, met the school authorities Saturday. "The school authorities are very shocked since they never found anything abnormal in her. But after the incident when they spoke to her mother, she apparently revealed that the girl had attempted suicide even before. Her parents didn't inform the school authorities about it, otherwise they would have paid more attention and such an incident could have been averted," Chakraborti said.

Several guardians believed that lack of CCTV cameras inside washrooms make it easy for students to do anything secretly. An attendant outside the washroom could have avoided this incident in particular, they added.

"This is an extremely unfortunate incident. It should be probed from all possible angle, be it any loophole on part of the school authorities, the education system or domestic environment," said Suranjan Das, Vice Chancellor of Jadavpur University.

(With inputs from Indian Express)