M’lore girl’s suicide leaves cops uneasy

They want to tell the world the high school student died of shame, and not because of harassment

M'lore girl's suicide leaves cops uneasy

They want to tell the world the high school student died of shame, and not because of harassment

Police are desperate to stop the suicide of a minor girl near Mangalore from spiralling into a communal row.

"It is a private matter," a senior policeman said when MiD DAY called Moodabidri, where the incident occurred yesterday. "There was no moral policing involved."

Police have arrested Saleem (28), allegedly found getting intimate with the 15-year-old girl hours before she killed herself.

On Wednesday, the ninth standard student of Aikala School went with a girl she knew to meet her friend Saleem.

Saleem works as the conductor of a bus owned by his father. The girl used to commute by his bus regularly.

By force

The two girls and Saleem left Vennur and alighted at Moodabidri.

Some local residents in a jeep found Saleem and the girl together at an isolated spot, while the other girl stood guard.
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The residents forced them to go with them to the Moodabidri police station.

"Since the girl and boy belonged to different communities, the people in the jeep were afraid a row might break out," said the policeman.

Sub-inspector Bharati detained the couple for questioning and summoned the girl's parents.

They came to the station but refused to file a complaint. They allegedly beat up Ashwini for being intimate with a boy.

Humilated, Ashwini hanged herself in her house a little later.

Rape case

The Moodabidri police have taken up a rape case against Saleem, as the girl was a minor and even consensual sex was considered rape. He was booked for abetment to suicide.

The post-mortem report said the girl was raped before she committed suicide by consuming poison.