Palakkad: The tragic death of 14-year-old Ashirnanda, a Class 9 student of St. Dominic’s Convent English Medium School in Sreekrishnapuram, has sent shockwaves across the region. Her family and protestors allege that sustained mental harassment by the school led the young girl to take her own life.
Public anger erupted on Wednesday morning as students, locals, and activist groups gathered outside the school demanding justice. Ashirnanda, daughter of C Prashanth from Thachanattukara, was reportedly subjected to humiliating treatment by school authorities for scoring low marks.
According to the family, she was made to shift seats in class and forced—along with her parents present—to write and sign a declaration agreeing to repeat Class 8 if her performance did not improve. This, they say, caused deep psychological distress.
The girl was found hanging in an upstairs room of her house on Tuesday evening. Earlier, she had returned from school and briefly played with her younger sibling before she went missing. Her lifeless body was discovered during a search initiated when a neighbor’s child arrived for tuition.
Palakkad District Collector has sought an urgent report. Education department officials have inspected the school and collected initial evidence.
While the principal has denied the allegations, the management claims the class shift was an academic measure, not punishment. Protesters, however, maintain it was mental pressure that drove the teen to suicide.
Police are probing the incident, and further action will follow after the postmortem and inquiry.