SMS leads to suicide
2004-05-24 12:34
New Delhi - An Indian teenager killed herself after receiving a cellphone text message saying she had failed her school leaving exams, although she had actually passed, a report said on Monday.
The 17-year-old girl hanged herself on Sunday morning after getting the SMS giving her the wrong information, the Hindustan Times reported.
The girl's parents had been out attending yoga classes with their second daughter when the girl committed suicide in the central Indian town of Indore, the report said.
It was uncertain whether the company was at fault for sending the incorrect message or whether the girl had made a mistake in typing down her roll number, the report said.
Pressure from parents and peers on students to score high marks in the exams is immense and each year dozens across the country kill themselves when they find they have failed.
Schools have now begun offering counselling for depressed and nervous teenagers, while the Central Board of Secondary Education, which conducts the exam, set up an e-counselling helpline in March.
- AFP