- The headmaster and the three teachers from St Columba's School have been asked not to visit the school
- They have been told not to speak to students, staff or parents without permission
- All four had been named in the First Information Report filed by the boy's father
Two days after a student of St Columba's School in Delhi died by suicide by jumping from the platform of an elevated Metro station, school authorities have suspended the headmaster and three teachers who were named in the First Information Report filed by the teenager's father.
The 16-year-old, Shourya Patil, had died by suicide on Tuesday and left behind a note blaming his teachers.
In his suicide note, Shourya wrote, "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?)".
In the FIR filed on Wednesday, the boy's father, Pradeep Patil, named the school's headmaster for classes 5 to 10, Aparajita Pal, and teachers Julie Varghese, Manu Kalra and Yukti Aggarwal Mahajan, and accused them of mentally harassing his son.
In the identical letters, the school's principal, Robert Fernandes, said the suspension would remain in effect until further notice. The principal asked the headmaster and the teachers to remain available for any investigation and said they cannot visit the school or speak to students, staff or parents without permission.
"This is to inform you that the school has been made aware of an FIR registered against you, bearing No. 336A Tis Hazari Court, dated 19th November 2025... In view of the seriousness of the allegations, the competent authority has decided to place you under suspension with immediate effect," the principal wrote.
"You shall remain under suspension till the completion of the investigation and further orders from the competent authority. During the period of suspension, you are required to remain available for any official communication or inquiry, and you must not visit the school premises or interact with students, staff, or parents without prior written permission from the administration," he added.
Accusations
Shourya had jumped from the Rajendra Place Metro Station on Tuesday afternoon and, in the FIR, Pradeep had said the headmaster and the three teachers had been scolding him for the smallest of things and mentally harassing him.
The father said Shourya's friends had told him Julie Varghese had been threatening him for the past four days that he would be thrown out of the school and a transfer certificate would be issued.
Manu Kalra, Pradeep Patil said in the FIR, had once pushed the teenager.
The father said that during a dramatics class on Tuesday, the day Shourya died by suicide, he had fallen and Yukti Mahajan insulted him and mocked him, saying he was overacting. He was allegedly scolded so much that he started crying. The teacher then said he could cry as much as he wanted and it did not matter to her.
Pradeep said the headmaster, Aparajita Pal, was also present when all of this was happening, but did not intervene. He alleged all four had harassed Shourya so much that he died by suicide.
Speaking to NDTV on Thursday, Pradeep said, "The teachers kept on torturing him... Three days ago, a teacher told him that she would call us (the parents) and tell us that he would be removed from the school. It is unimaginable to tell a student this just 10 days before the pre-board exams," Pradeep Patil said.
"My son studied in the school since Class 2. He used to tell me teachers kept harassing him. I told him to wait for a few days and, after that, we would admit him to another school. He was happy about that... A time came when the teachers harassed him so badly that he told them he started having suicidal thoughts (and had told a school counsellor). The school should have told us about this. No one said anything. We found out only after meeting students who are protesting in front of the school in memory of my son," he added.
Probe Ordered
On Thursday, the Delhi government ordered a high-level inquiry into the death. Setting up a five-member committee, the Directorate of Education said it was "imperative" to establish the facts, circumstances, and administrative accountability connected to the incident.
The panel, which will be chaired by Joint Director Harshit Jain, has been asked to conduct a thorough and objective investigation and submit a comprehensive report within three days.
