Teenager commits suicide after being scolded for low attendance

Kolkata, Jan 19 (IANS) A teenager committed suicide in South Kolkata after being scolded by his parents for low attendance in school, police said on Thursday.

Samprit Banerjee, a class 11 student of Swami Pranabananda Vidyapith in Kolkata, hanged himself from the ceiling fan on Wednesday night in Haridevpur area.

His body was was recovered this morning," a police official said.

Police said no suicide note was found in the room.

But the boy posted a message on the social media saying "Good bye" on Wednesday night.

The message was removed later.

Samprit's mother said his attendance was below 60 per cent -- the minimum required for appearing in the final examination.

"His attendance in school was very low. The teachers told us that the students with below-60 percent attendance wouldn't be allowed to appear for school exams. So naturally, I scolded him a bit. But we never expected such a drastic step from him," she said.

However, Samprit's parents and school mates accused one of his school teachers of repeatedly humiliating him.

"The accounts teacher of his class repeatedly misbehaved with him and even slapped him in front of other students. He often refused to go to school in fear of that teacher," Samprit's mother said.

"A few days back, my boy told me that he was punished in class in front of other students by the same teacher, who misbehaves with him. He was really upset about this," his father complained.