Viqarunnisa in turmoil as investigation opens into student ‘suicide’

Authorities have formed two committees to investigate the “suicide” of a Viqarunnisa Noon School and College student.

The Ministry of Education and the Viqarunnisa authorities on Tuesday set up the panels with a three-day deadline to turn in probe reports.

Aritry Adhikary, a Viqarunnisa student, was found dead -- her body hanging from a ceiling fan – in her room. The principal of the school allegedly insulted her and the parents of the ninth-grader because she had cheated in an exam.

Her relative Saumitra Sarder had said earlier that when Aritree took her parents to the school on Monday, they were insulted in the principal’s room.

“The authorities also threatened to rusticate her,” Saumitra told bdnews24.com.

Returning home from school, Aritry entered her room and locked the door, according to Saumitra.

Later, the family broke open the door after she had not answered knocks for a long time, according to him.

Principal Nazneen Ferdous refuted the allegation of insulting the parents of the student.

Aritry was barred from an exam on Sunday after she was found to be cheating by using a mobile phone, according to Nazneen.

“We called her parents only to inform them about the incident. They were not insulted.”

The suicide sparked fury among students and guardians and turned the spotlight on the controversial handling of students by one of the top schools in Bangladesh.

The government’s three-member probe committee will be headed by Md Yusuf, director of the Dhaka regional office of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told reporters on Tuesday.

The other members are -- Sakhawat Hossain, deputy-director at the Dhaka regional office of DSHE and Benazir Ahmed, Dhaka district education officer.

The members of the second panel are guardian representative Md Ataur Rahman, who is also a member of the school’s Board of Directors, guardian representative Tinna Khurshid Jahan and Viqarunnisa teacher Ferdousi Begum.

The student has not been issued a transfer certificate, Nazneen Ferdous, the principal of the school, said on Tuesday.

The committee formed by the school will investigate if anyone has provoked Aritry to commit suicide, the principal said.