17-year-old boy jumps off school building, dies

A 17-year-old boy allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the fourth floor of his school building in Dwarka Sector 3, Southwest Delhi. The incident was reported around 10.30 am on Tuesday. Pravesh Dahiya, student of Class XI, Modern Convent School, was reportedly upset over his academic performance in the last semester, police said.

According to police, Pravesh told his teacher that he had a severe headache and needed to visit the medical room. The teacher allowed him to leave and he went to the terrace of his school building. "Pravesh told his teacher that he could not sit through the class and wanted to go to the medical room for an aspirin. The teacher initially told him to go during recess, but he insisted on leaving the class. Instead of going to the medical room, he went to the terrace and jumped off the fourth floor," a senior police officer said.

Staff members spotted his body and informed school authorities, who made a PCR call. The boy was rushed to hospital, but was declared dead on arrival. Doctors told his parents that immense blood loss and a severe head injury led to his death.

Pravesh's father, who is a Delhi Police head constable, told investigating officers that his son was upset over his performance in his last semester. "Pravesh's family does not suspect any foul play. His father told us that he was upset over his exam marks two weeks ago. He said the entire family supported him and never scolded or pressurised him for not scoring well. It is an unfortunate incident," a senior police officer said.

The police are trying to ascertain if the boy was being pressurised by his teachers to perform well. "At times, children are humiliated by classmates and teachers when they do not perform well. We are questioning the classmates and other friends to ascertain if this was the case. An inquiry has been ordered into the matter and investigation is underway," the officer said.

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