Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), January 14: Apparently depressed over her prolonged illness and poor academic performance, a Class 11 student set herself on fire in this Uttar Pradesh town Friday, police said. She died on the way to hospital.
The 17-year-old girl set herself afire inside her house in Shahpur area while others in the family were sleeping.
“Preliminary investigations indicate the girl was in acute depression over her health problems and poor academic records, and therefore took the extreme step,” Police Inspector K.P. Singh told reporters in the town, some 300 km from Lucknow.
“The girl was being treated for meningitis and had earlier failed in class 10 after which her father got her out of the school for some months and later enrolled her with a private institution,” he added.
The girl’s parents told police that even as she was recovering, she used to say that her illness has made her life a burden for her and the family members.
–Agencies