A tragedy struck today at Holalkere town in Karnataka where a 23-year-old BAMS student died by suicide because the school's boss alleged he had harassed her and she had denied him.
The deceased, identified as Likhitha, was a student who was attending Ayurveda College in Malladihalli and died hanging at her residence in Basava Layout at Holalkere. It has shocked people and serious fears for the mental well-being of schoolchildren and the effects of rampant rumours are being received.
As reported, Likhitha was feeling anxious due to false rumours of being related to a professor Dr. Raju and her reputation suffered much damage as a result.
Before taking the extreme step, Likhitha had left behind a suicide note in this regard. In the note she named Dr. Raju, his wife Nisha and one or two of her classmates as harassment and defamation. She put them behind it and she didn’t want anyone else to know, she blamed them for her illness.
After the incident, it was filed with a Holalkere police station for a criminal investigation. Law and order agencies have filed an FIR against those listed in the note and are on the search for the truth behind her death. They’re also looking into the authenticity of the suicide note, the investigators say.
It’s been a day we had once again to see the darker side of campus life that gossip, misinformation and personal attacks can have catastrophic effects. It’s the school where learning takes place that’s the point and why the students need to work so hard - for students and their professors to understand that schools really need better systems around harassment, respect student privacy as well as mental health care.
Experts insist defamation and social stigmatization in close-knit communities will also impact the psychological health of a student in different ways. They advocate schools for prevention of such incidents with counseling services, strict action against harassment, training in etiquette, and teaching children about respectful discourse; to protect students and work to improve their mental state where they could be subjected to the consequences.
With further investigation ongoing, authorities want to warn the public and students not to spread rumours and not to be impulsive (which is what spreads rumours in such places where they can spread very fast and become irreversible.)
And Likhitha’s tragic death is yet a further wake-up call for empathy, accountability and mental health awareness in education.
