A 17-year-old student in Visakhapatnam tragically ended her own life by jumping from her college building. Shortly before she made the decision, the girl told her family in a lengthy text that she was being harassed sexually at college and that she was unable to report the incident to the police or the college administration because the harassers had taken pictures of her and threatened to share them on social media.
After informing her family in the heartbreaking texts that other of her college classmates had also experienced sexual assault, the girl wrote to her elder sister, “Sorry didi, I have to go.”
The teenager, a student of a polytechnic college in Visakhapatnam (name withheld for anonymity), hailed from a family residing in the neighboring Anakapalle district of Andhra Pradesh. On Thursday around 10 pm, the institute’s authorities contacted her family, notifying them that she was missing. Concerned when she didn’t respond to calls, her family promptly alerted the police.
At approximately 12:50 am on Friday, the girl finally replied to the frantic messages from her family, reassuring them not to be tense.
“Don’t get tense, listen to me, I can’t tell you why I am leaving and, even if I do, you won’t understand. Please forget about me. I am really sorry. Mom and dad, I am grateful that you gave birth to me and brought me up. My chapter is coming to an end,” she wrote in Telugu.
Congratulating her elder sister, who is expecting a baby, the girl also had a message for her younger sister, “Focus on your future and study whatever you like. Don’t get distracted, don’t be influenced by others, unlike me. Always be happy, and have a good life.”
Then, addressing her father specifically, the teenager wrote that she was taking the step because she was sexually harassed in college. “You may ask why I am not complaining to the faculty, but that won’t help. They (her harassers) have taken my photos and are threatening me. There are other girls as well. We aren’t being able to tell anyone and we are not being able to avoid college either. We are caught in between. If I file a police complaint or approach the authorities, they will release my photos on social media.”
“The reason I am taking this decision is that if I go away now, you will feel bad for a few years and you will forget later. But, if I am around, you will look at me and feel bad all the time,” she told her father before leaving a final message for her elder sister: “Sorry didi, I made you all tense, but I have to go”.
The family promptly responded, informing her that the police were en route and pleading with her not to make any rash decisions. However, they received no response. Sadly, the teenager’s body was discovered sometime later.
The girl’s father said a police complaint has been filed. “I need to know why my daughter died. I brought her up with great love and care. She got good marks in her Class 10 exams and we got her admitted to this college believing that she would get a good education here.”
‘No Men Have Access’
The college’s principal said men cannot access the women’s hostel. “We keep observing all students. Men cannot go to the girls’ hostel. There are women wardens, so there is no chance of sexual harassment,” he claimed.
A police official stated that faculty members and other students are undergoing questioning, and all possible angles are being thoroughly investigated.