A nine-year-old girl committed suicide after facing persistent bullying and neglect at a prestigious private school. But even after eight months of the incident, no internal action has been taken against the principal, class teacher or the management. Police action has also been slow and no one has been arrested so far. The incident of Amyra’s death in Jaipur demands our outrage. Amyra’s parents – Shivani and Vijay Meena allege that the police are being lenient in the case due to the influential and politically connected management of the school. He says that the police tried to put the blame on his daughter. A police officer even said that Amyra was a victim of hallucination. But CCTV footage presents a completely different picture. The first CCTV footage became public in November 2025, when Amyra committed suicide by jumping from the fourth floor of the school building. Before the accident, Amyra had been complaining about bullying in school for several months and once she even complained directly to the principal. Months later, the family have released eight minutes of new CCTV footage, which gives a grim picture of Amyra’s last few minutes before her death. In the footage, a student is seen taking out a digital slate and showing it to Amyra. Other students also join in teasing him. Amyra’s mother believes that what was shown to her had sexual innuendo. Amyra goes to her teacher not once but five times, but every time her plea remains unheard. On one occasion, instead of helping him, the teacher is seen scolding him. In the footage the girl is standing with folded hands. She is also seen covering her mouth, which is a sign of deep distress. You can hope that at the very least, teachers would keep a special eye on a student who complained several times about the behavior of her classmates. But instead the girl walks out of the class without any supervision. When she climbs the stairs alone, no one comes to find her. She passes by staff and teachers talking among themselves. The question does not arise in anyone’s mind as to where the girl is going and why. The girl, who is afraid of heights, sits on the parapet of the building and jumps down about 48 feet. Even after so many months, answers to many important questions have not been received. Like what was on that digital slate? Why didn’t the teacher intervene? How did the girl go out alone? How did she keep roaming alone in the corridors of the school without any supervision? The CBSE fact-finding committee had said that Amyra’s death was avoidable and the school failed to intervene in time. The committee also found that despite the site of the girl’s fall being important for forensic evidence, the school got it cleaned in a hurry. The three officers investigating the case have also been changed. Shivani and Vijay told me that since they started their fight for justice, either their daughter or they have been blamed. Shivani was also accused of being a working mother and neglecting her daughter. Amyra’s tragic death is a story of bullying, insensitivity and a systematic institutional cover-up. Tomorrow your daughter may also be in her place! There was no question in anyone’s mind as to where the girl was going out of the class and why. The girl who is afraid of heights jumps 48 feet. What was it on that digital slate that troubled him so much? (These are the author’s own views)
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Barkha Dutt’s Column: How many more children’s lives will be ruined by bullying in schools?
