Palakkad school faces heat over student’s suicide as family

PALAKKAD: The tragic suicide of 14-year-old Ashirnanda, a Class 9 student of St. Dominic’s Convent English Medium School, Sreekrishnapuram, has triggered public outrage, as family members, school students, and local organisations alleged that the school mentally harassed the student.

Protests erupted in front of the school on Wednesday morning, demanding justice and accountability.

According to the family, Ashirnanda, daughter Thachanattukara native C Prashanth, was asked not only relocate to a different seat in class due to low marks, but was also forced to write and sign a declaration—in the presence of her parents—stating that if she continued to underperform, she would agree to repeat Class 8. The parents allege that this public humiliation deeply affected her mental health.

On Tuesday evening, the girl was found hanging in a room on the upper floor of her home in Thachanattukara. She had returned from school, played briefly with her younger sister, and was later found missing when a neighbour’s child arrived for tuition. A search led to the devastating discovery.