15-Year-Old Boy Kills Himself After Teacher Makes Him Stand Outside Classroom As Punishment

A 15-year-old boy allegedly killed himself after his teacher forced him to stand outside his classroom as punishment in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu, India on Thursday, March 24.

On Thursday, March 24, the student, identified as 15-year-old Rithun, an eleventh-grade student at a public school in Tiruchengode, was allegedly reprimanded by a teacher for being unruly and was made to stand outside a classroom as punishment for his behavior. Rithun reportedly felt humiliated because of the incident and allegedly subsequently took his own life by jumping in front of a speeding train near Tiruchenngodu in Namakkal district, the Times Of India reported.

“As he felt humiliated, Rithun took the extreme step by jumping in front of a train and died on the spot,” a police officer said.

Following the incident, the authorities registered a case in connection with the gruesome death and launched an investigation. Meanwhile, family members of Rithun, as well as his neighbors, have mounted a protest in front of the school. The group reportedly holds the teacher responsible for the minor boy's death and demanded action against him.

Worried by the demonstration, school staff alerted the Tiruchengode police who quickly responded to the scene, pacified the protesters, and dispersed the crowd, the Hindu reported.

In a similar but unrelated incident, a 14-year-old schoolgirl allegedly killed herself after she was told to stand outside her classroom as punishment for coming late to school in Tamil Nadu, India on Saturday, March 12, Latin Times reported.

On Saturday afternoon, as school classes started after the lunch break, a teacher had asked the girl and several other students who had come back late to stand outside their classroom for 10 to 15 minutes as punishment. The girl was allegedly also singled out by the teacher because the teen student was the class representative. Chastising the girl, the teacher said that another student should be given charge of the class as she was frequently late for lectures.

However, after the 15 minutes outside, when the teacher allowed the children to get back in the class, the girl complained of feeling an urge to vomit and excused herself to the lavatory.

When the student did not return after a while, the teacher asked other pupils to check on her. However, by then, the girl had climbed to the second floor and taken her own life by jumping off the school building. Even though the teachers rushed her to a hospital, she was declared dead upon arrival.