The death of a 17-year-old student found with severe burns at her school in east Delhi has prompted police to examine supervision arrangements, question teachers and staff, and review CCTV footage, while her family alleged negligence and raised the possibility of a conspiracy.
The class 12 student died at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Krishna Nagar on Saturday while a school inspection was underway. Investigators were examining several possible factors, including personal difficulties, but had not established the circumstances or motive behind her death, sources said on Sunday.
According to sources, she had been attending her seventh-period class when she sought her teacher’s permission to leave to drink water.
Police said she subsequently went to an area behind the guard room, near a water tank. They were investigating a suspected act of self-harm and examining how she reached the area without teachers or security personnel noticing in time.
Investigators were also reviewing the circumstances in which she left the classroom and the school’s supervision arrangements.
Staff members rushed to the area after hearing screams and found the student with severe burns. They alerted police.
Shahdara deputy commissioner of police R. P. Meena said a call about a student suffering burns was received at 11.58 am. A team from Krishna Nagar police station went to the school, and the girl was taken to Dr Hedgewar Hospital, where she was declared dead.
Police seized the school’s CCTV digital video recorder and were analysing footage to reconstruct the sequence of events. The security guard was being questioned about his whereabouts at the time, and investigators had also examined the attendance register.
Teachers, other school staff, classmates, relatives and friends were being questioned as part of the investigation.
Sources said police were examining possible relationship difficulties, including a suspected breakup, among several lines of inquiry. No link between those circumstances and her death had been established.
A purported three-page suicide note recovered from her school bag was also being examined. Sources said it referred to family members and a friend.
Police were investigating the family’s allegation that the student could have been the victim of a conspiracy alongside the other possibilities.
A crime team and a Forensic Science Laboratory team inspected the scene and collected evidence. Investigators were also examining an object recovered near the student.
Her elder sister had dropped her at school around 7 am. When she did not return home by about 1 pm, her sister-in-law went to look for her and was informed about the incident.
The family expressed disbelief that she could have died by suicide, questioned how the incident occurred during school hours and alleged negligence by school staff.