'Cry As Much As You Want': What Teacher Told Delhi Teen Who Died By Suicide

On Tuesday afternoon, Shourya Patil, still in his school uniform, went straight from his school in central Delhi to a metro station, and jumped from a high platform.

A shocked crowd called the police, who found the 16-year-old boy's schoolbag, with what appeared to be a handwritten suicide note.

Shourya Patil, a class 10 student of St Columba's School, a leading private school in Delhi, was allegedly mocked and "ill-treated" by his teachers for a year. The last straw was the threat of expulsion after his parents complained to the school. 

According to Shourya's father Pradeep Patil, his son was scolded and "publicly humiliated" on the day he took his life, after he fell during a dance practice on stage. 

When Shourya broke down on the stage, a teacher allegedly told him, "cry as much as you want, I don't care". 

"After my son's death, the principal called me and said 'whatever help you need, let us know and we will support you'. I told him I want my son back," Pradip Patil told NDTV.

Shourya was usually driven to school and back but on that day, he left the campus through the back gate and went to the metro station.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed in the case, Shourya's purported suicide note blamed three teachers. 

There was no immediate comment from the school at the time of filing this report. 

In the note, he also apologised to his family repeatedly. "Sorry mummy, aapka itni bar dil toda, ab last bar todunga. School ki teachers ab hai hi aise, kya bolu (Sorry mummy, I broke your heart many times and I am doing it for the last time. This is how the teachers in the school are, what do I say?)"

For his older brother, he said: "Sorry bhaiya, I was rude to you, argued with you, disrespected you."

He also had a message for his father: "Sorry papa, I should have been a good person like you."

A shattered Pradeep Patil said his son had "complained about the ill-treatment for a year". 

"Whenever we would raise the matter with the school authorities, they would dismiss it by saying my son needs to focus during classes. They would say that his Math grades are poor and he doesn't like to focus on his studies," he said, speaking to NDTV before leaving for their hometown Sangli in Maharashtra for his son's funeral.

"Shourya was a kid and kids at his age may have the tendency to get distracted but that doesn't justify the teachers' behaviour towards him. When we reached out to them later again, they threatened to issue a Transfer Certificate (TC) for him," he added.

Shourya's friends and classmates said he had gone through a tough time in the last five months.

On the day he took his life, said one student, he fell during a dance practice on stage and the teachers removed him from the dance altogether, saying he fell on purpose. "They also accused him of doing drama and overacting," said Pradeep Patil.

It happened in the principal's presence but he did not intervene, according to Shourya's father.

Pradeep Patil also alleged his son had been threatened by a teacher for four days. He had been told his parents would be summoned and he would be expelled. "One time, he was even pushed by a teacher," he said.

What the suicide note said

In the suicide note that was recovered from his bag in the metro station, Shourya said he was forced to take his life due to the "repeated harassment". 

"My parents have done a lot. I am sorry I couldn't give them anything," he said. He apologised to his brother for his "misbehaviour" and his mother, for "repeatedly breaking her heart". "I am breaking your heart for the last time," he said.

"School ki teachers abh hai hi esse kya bolu... Meri last wish hai inke uper action le, me hi chata koi aur bacha meri tarah kuch kare (the school teachers are like this, what can I say... My last wish is that action be initiated against them. I don't want any other child to take such a step  - referring to his suicide)," he said.

He also said "I am sorry but St Columba's teachers have done this to me," he said. 

He thanked his mother for always supporting him and asked her to continue doing so for his father and brother. 

Shourya also shared a phone number and said whoever found the letter should call that number.

He also asked for his organs to be donated, if they are in a "condition to work". "If any of my body works or is in condition to work kindly donate it to someone who really needs it," he said.