Gurgaon: 17-Year-Old Dies By Suicide After Being Accused of Molestation
Gurgaon: On Monday, a 17-year-old boy died by suicide after a girl accused him of molestation on Instagram, the police said a day later. The news comes two days after messages on sexual violence from a Instagram group 'Bois Locker Room' leaked online.
This incident, however, is not related to the locker room case.
According to the police, the teenager jumped off the 11th floor of an apartment building – hours after the girl posted her story, saying #MeToo.
“No suicide note was found but messages retrieved from the boy’s phone showed that fellow students warned him that he will be questioned by the police,” said an officer. According to the Hindustan Times, the girl posted that the boy attacked her two years and and she "was tired of keeping it a secret", and later said that the boy molested her in the basement of her apartment.
A close friend of the victim, the police says, saw him fall but did not report it. Later, the guards rushed to the spot and informed the family, said Deepak Kumar, station officer of Sector 53 police station. “They found the boy in a pool of blood and informed the family around 11.30 pm. He was rushed to the hospital where the doctors declared him dead,” he said.
The police officers told the Hindustan Times that they will question the girl and those who commented on her post.
Gurgaon police's PRO, Subhash Boken, told the Indian Express that they have seized the boy's phone and it is "yet to be unlocked".
Another police officer said “the boy’s laptop and other gadgets too will be seized and scanned to understand what prompted him to take such a step. They will be sent to the forensics lab.”
Meanwhile, the cyber crime cell of the Gurgaon police also came on board and is helping with the investigation.
As soon as the posts went viral, the boy's sister posted a thread on Instagram saying that his brother was "not a rapist". She said that the girl should have reported the assault to the authorities instead of "defaming" him on social media.
As of now, the police say that the boy did not leave behind a suicide note and that his parents have not accused anyone of abetment of suicide.
If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers (www.spif.in/seek-help/) they can call to speak in confidence. You could also appear them to the nearest hospital.
Featured image credit: (Representative image) Dylan Mullins/Unsplash
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