A 12-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide by immolation on a school campus at Pernambut on Monday.
The police said Harini, a Class VI student of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Pernambut, came to school at 8.45 a.m., left her bag in her classroom and went to the bathroom before the school assembly commenced at 9 a.m.
She reportedly carried a bottle of kerosene and a match box, locked herself in the bathroom and set herself ablaze. Students, who heard her scream, alerted the teachers. However, she succumbed to burns.
The police said the girl’s mother died a few years ago and her father, a painter, had married again.
“We will be able to ascertain the reason for her suicide only after investigation. However, her cousin — a woman aged about 23 — committed suicide in a similar way a week ago. Harini was said to be close to her. We are also looking at whether her death affected Harini mentally,” a police official said.
The Pernambut police have registered a case and are investigating.
Lakshmi Vijayakumar, founder of Sneha, a suicide prevention centre in Chennai, said the number of children in the age group of 10-14 committing suicide was increasing. Sneha’s helpline was also getting calls from children of this age group.
“Most often, it is due to reasons at home and school. At home, it is mostly some kind of conflict with parents. One of the immediate occurrences at school was that they were caught copying,” she said.
The suicide prevention helpline of Sneha can be contacted at 044-24640050/24640060.
