‘Girl only safe in mother’s womb’: TN teen in suicide note; 1 held

Chennai police have arrested a 21-year-old youth in the suicide case of a 17-year-old schoolgirl in the city’s Mangadu area on Saturday.

According to police, the girl’s parents found her hanging from the ceiling when they came home from shopping on Saturday morning. She was alone at home and they had to break open the door of her room when she didn’t respond to repeated knocking.

Police said, the youth who was arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, has confessed to having physically abused the girl.

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“The boy has confessed to a physical relationship with the minor girl. In the last two weeks he had been harassing and torturing her. We have located filthy messages and the exchange of photographs. They had a good friendly relationship for eight months before this,” a noted news website quoted an officer investigating the case.

The girl left behind a suicide note, titled ‘Stop Sexual Harassment’ in which she wrote about the mental trauma a victim of sexual harassment undergoes and that schools and relatives’ places were not safe for girls.

“A girl is safe only in the mother’s womb and grave,” the girl wrote in the letter, urging every parent to teach their “kids and sons” to treat girls with respect.

Three years ago, the girl and the boy studied in the same school and were in class 8 and 11 respectively. They, however, only became friends on Instagram after the girl moved to a girl’s school later, police said.

In her note the girl had urged to “stop sexual harassment” demanding “justice for me”.

“Don’t trust relatives or teachers,” she wrote.

Based on the letter, police are also probing whether the girl was harassed by more than one person.

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Friends of the girl who spoke to the police said she had distanced herself them lately.

The girl had said that sexual harassment was becoming intolerable, causing her immense pain and that she wasn’t able to concentrate on her studies.

(Please reach out to a mental health specialist if you need support or know someone who does. Helplines: AASRA: +91 98204 66726; SAHAI: 080 25497777)