Admonished by mom for being irregular in taking food, 11-yr-old ends life

Bangalore, December 14: Admonished by mother for being irregular in taking food, an 11-year-old girl committed suicide by setting herself ablaze at her house at Vijayanagar in the City on Tuesday.

The girl has been identified as Padma, a resident of RPC Layout, Vijaynagar and class V student of Asian School at Shamanna Garden.

Padma went to school in the morning along with her younger sister and brother. Around noon, she complained of giddiness and fell in the school playground. The school staff gave her first aid and sent her back home along with her siblings. They explained to their mother Varalakshmi what had happened, asked her to take care of Padma and went back to school.

Varalakshmi reportedly chided Padma for often skipping breakfast and lunch. She told her that she fell ill because of her irregular food habit and went to fetch her husband Chaluvaraju, who worked as a mason in a nearby house.

Some neighbours noticed a thick cloud of smoke inside the house and alerted Varalakshmi. She rushed home, whose front door was open, only to find that Padma was lying behind the door with nearly 90 per cent burns. Padma was still alive and was rushed to a nearby hospital where she breathed her last.

Initially, there were speculations surrounding the cause of Padma’s death. Many local residents believed that she was electrocuted. Some claimed that an unidentified person barged into the house, murdered the girl and absconded. However, the post-mortem conducted at Victoria Hospital revealed that it was a case of suicide.

“The doctors who conducted the post-mortem found kerosene smell emanating from her skull. Several particles of kerosene were also found. Hence, we have come to the conclusion that it is a clear case of suicide,” a senior police officer told Deccan Herald.

Padma was the eldest daughter of Chaluvaraju and Varalakshmi. The couple came from Tamil Nadu and long-time residents of Bangalore. The parents were speechless and highly inconsolable when the doctor announced Padma’s death.

A staff member of the school said: “Padma was very regular to school. She was studious and mingled with everyone. She actively participated in the sports meet and wanted to do higher education. We received the tragic news hours after we sent her home.”