Kalimela: A 14-year-old boy, a Class IX student of a government-run residential high school, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree behind the school premises under this police limits in Mallkangiri district, police said Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Rigen Madkami, eldest son of Muka Madkami of Kambeda under Korukonda block in the district. He was studying at Gamphakonda Residential High School, which is run by the SC & ST Welfare department, and was staying in the school hostel.
According to reports, the deceased took the extreme step between 9pm and 10pm Monday by using a napkin tied to a Mohua tree. Family members including his father, uncle Subash Kirsani, and brother Ganga Madkami cried foul over the death. They alleged that the hostel authorities subjected him to mental harassment and abetted the suicide. They further said he might have been murdered and the incident staged as a suicide. Police have launched an investigation after registration of a case but the exact reason behind the student’s death remains unclear. A forensic team from Koraput was also pressed into service.
Authorities have stated that further inquiry will determine whether it was a case of suicide or homicide. After Saraswati Puja celebrations and the idol immersion, students returned Monday to the hostel for dinner but Rigen was found missing. A search was conducted, and his body was discovered hanging from a tree by a teacher responsible for hostel supervision. Later, his family members were informed