Nahid: Suicide of Viqarunnisa student is ‘painful and tragic’

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has said action will be taken against the culprits after the submission of the investigation reports by the committees formed in connection with the suicide of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College student Aritry Adhikary.

His comments came on Tuesday after talking to the principal, teachers, guardians and students of the institute.

School authorities alleged that Aritry, a student of class IX, was caught cheating using a mobile phone during her exam on Sunday.

On Monday afternoon, at her Shantinagar home, she locked herself up in her room and committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan.

Her relatives claimed that after the cheating incident, the principal called in her parents and insulted them. That is why the teenager committed suicide, they said.

“How much insulted, how much hurt a person has to be to choose the path of suicide? We have heard the events leading to her death and the back stories behind what happened,” Nahid said.

The Ministry of Education and the Viqarunnisa authorities on Tuesday formed two separate committees for investigation into the suicide. The committees have been told to submit reports within three days.

Referring to Aritry’s death as painful and tragic, Nahid said, "In no educational institution a teacher can physically or mentally torture a student. It is a crime.”

The minister said he has talked to the outraged students and parents and listened to their complaints. He hoped that the investigation committees would take these issues into consideration.