The 10-year-old committed suicide after a popular health drink couldn't add to his stature
The 10-year-old committed suicide after a popular health drink couldn't add to his statureIt was a desire that turned into an obsession and eventually claimed a young life. 10-year-old Rahul, a class V
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| KISS OF DEATH:u00a0Rahul Kumar killed himself over height issues. Pic/mid day |
student, wanted to grow taller. A TV advertisement of a popular health drink appeared to provide the answer.u00a0
With the Rs 70 that he had recently received as scholarship at school, Rahul went ahead and got himself a bottle of the 'elixir'. But two days later, with no noticeable difference to his build, the young boy committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling of his room.
"Rahul used to say that after having this health drink he would soon grow in height. This time when he got his scholarship, he forced us to buy a bottle. He was taking the health drink for past the two days but on the third day we found him dead. He used to measure his height daily. We didn't have the slightest idea that he would commit suicide," said Gayatri, the deceased's mother.
Naresh Kumar, Rahul's father, said that the boy would mark his height daily against the walls of the house. It was his daily routine.
"I threw the bottle of health drink into the Yamuna. This thing killed my son. He had been taking it for two days and used to say that he would soon be as tall as his father. I had gone to Patel Nagar to meet my sister when my son committed suicide. My younger daughter Suman made the discovery. Had I known he would commit suicide, I would not have let Rahul buy that health drink," said Naresh.
Rahul lived in Prem Nagar area in outer Delhi along with his parents and three sisters. He was studying at a nearby MCD school. His father is employed with a private firm.
A police officer said that on September 4 Rahul was alone at his house when he allegedly committed suicide using his mother's chunni.
"Suman reached home around noon and found Rahul hanging from the ceiling. She started screaming in panic, hearing which the neighbours rushed in. They pulled the body down and informed the police. Rahul was rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead," said a senior police officer.
The police said that they have taken the statement of Suman and the parents. The body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Gandhi Hospital.
"Rahul's family members told us that he had bought a bottle of health drink because he wished to be taller. When that didn't work out, he killed himself," said a senior police officer.
GIRL COMMITS SUICIDEA 17-year-old girl committed suicide on Thursday night in east Delhi's New Ashok Nagar area, by hanging herself from a ceiling fan. The deceased, identified as Ganga Devi, had been depressed since she had not been doing well in her studies for some time, cops said. The deceased was a class XII student at a local government school. Her father Ram Singh, a daily labourer, was not at home when the incident took place. The body of the deceased was handed over to her family after her postmortem was conducted.
