Poonam, aged 17, was an arts student at the government girls senior secondary school in Naraina Vihar. ``She did not expect to do badly at all,'' said her brother Vijay, aged 20. ``In fact she expected rather good results. I suppose the shock of the news was too much for her.''

According to him, Poonam went to collect her results around 12.30 p.m. to her school with her mother. ``It was there she learnt that she had secured a compartment in Economics, but had done reasonably well in the other subjects.''

After collecting the results, her mother went to the market while she returned home. ``At home, the only people present were my elder sisters,'' he said.

He added that Poonam went into a room while her sisters were speaking on the phone to a friend. She hanged herself from the ceiling fan with her `chunni' around 2 p.m.Police have discovered a suicide note in the room. She blamed herself for having failed in one subject.

``I had gone to meet a friend when it happened. It was only when I returned that I got to know. I haven't even seen her marks,'' said Vijay.At Poonam's home distraught relatives consoled her mother and sisters and were not willing to talk. ``Please leave us alone,'' one of them said.