'Humiliated' by schoolmates, boy jumps to death from 10th floor

A 14-year-old student jumped to death from the 10th floor of a private apartment building in JP Nagar 5th phase on June 29.

The deceased is Raunak Banerjee, a ninth standard student in Baldwin Boys’ High School. He committed suicide as he could not bear the humiliation after a few students spoke ill of him. On June 29, he came home from school and went to the 10th floor. He resided on the first floor along with his parents.

He climbed up the parapet wall and jumped from there. He fell down and was lying in a pool of blood. The security guard, who noticed this, informed the parents and neighbours.
The JP Nagar police arrived at the spot and shifted him to a nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead, said the police.

A senior police officer said, “The footage from the CCTV camera at the apartment was examined. It was seen that he alights from the van and walks straight into the building. His bag was found lying near the lift. “In a chit found in the bag, the boy says he was embarrassed as some of his friends bullied him. He could not bear the humiliation.”
“We are enquiring if he was bullied in the van or in the school. The school authorities have been asked to conduct an enquiry and submit a report.

“We will check with the parents to see if he had complained of being bullied in school. As of now, they are not in a condition to speak. The case involves students and it has to be dealt with in a sensitive manner,” the officer said. A case of abetment to suicide has been registered in JP Nagar police station and investigation is on.

‘Find the guy who disturbed my son’

Bengaluru: Speaking to the media, Rounak’s mother said that he usually comes home at around 4.25 pm. However, on that day, she did not find him when she returned home.
“I rang the door bell, no one opened. I thought he was delayed. I thought he must have got stuck in the rain. I entered the house and went to the washroom,” she said.

The mother came back to pick a call from the neighbour. “My neighbour said your son is lying down. I rushed there and he was in a pool of blood,” she recalled. The mother said that the principal was praising her son, saying he was generous, but she was not overwhelmed by it. “I know my son was a good boy and very generous. I did not want that compliment from him. I want to know who has disturbed him. Just ask him to find out this guy. He (the principal) has been saying that they are looking out.”

Despite several attempts, the school has not been able to identify the student responsible for Rounak’s death. A parent-teacher meeting has been called on Monday to discuss the issue. Ajay Seth, principal secretary (incharge) of the Department of Public Instruction, said that he had sought a report on the issue. “I do not have much information. I have sought a report from the officials,” he said.

Victim’s sister on Facebook

Dyuti Banerjee: “We need information. We demand justice. Raunak Banerjee lost his life to fatal bullying! I will never know what my brother went through but we demand to know what happened to him. Waiting for justice. #Baldwinboys #Antibullying #Antiragging”

Change.org

A soft hearted, good natured 14 year kid was harassed and tortured to such an extent that ending his life was the only option he could think of... A suicide note in his school bag says he couldn't take it anymore and was terribly bullied by a group of boys in school. Apparently the incident was so bad that he couldn't put the details on the note and apologized to his parents for the extreme step. Today I have lost my brother. Tomorrow it can be yours!”

Experts for watch by parents, teachers

Adolescence being a phase of life with emotions running high, there is a need for closer watch by teachers and parents,  say psychologists.

They have also insisted on a need for a separate law against bullying. 
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Bharathi Singh, founder, Yuva Helpline, Sa Mudra Foundation said incidents of this sort call for better guidelines in schools.

“One could possibly look at whether the child who bullied the other was himself a victim of bullying. It could also be possible that he was not getting enough attention at home.”
She suggested, “There should be a 1:5 ratio of teachers and students. With micro-families going up these days and young mothers not being able to give much time, it becomes a need for someone to give attention to the child,” she said.

Dr B N Gangadhar, director, Nimhans said peer pressure could mostly be good. However, some students have a tendency to be sensitive.

“Parents or teachers must identify any changes in the child’s behaviour. It is ideal to have a counsellor in school,” he added.