Bullied, beaten, schoolboy goes into depression

The 14-year-old student of a private school in Defence Colony slashed his face with a blade after being repeatedly harassed by three of his classmates

Bullied, beaten, schoolboy goes into depression

The 14-year-old student of a private school in Defence Colony slashed his face with a blade after being repeatedly harassed by three of his classmates

The scars on his face may have healed, but Jyoti Sharma is fearful of the mental scars that'll probably continue to torment her 14-year-old son in the years to come. Lakshya Sharma, a student of class VIII in South Delhi Public School in Defence Colony used to be a good student and scored good numbers.

Tormented:u00a0 The victim, Lakshya Sharma, with his mother Jyoti Sharma.
The school suspended the culprits after the matter came to light.u00a0
Pic/Subhash Barolia

But as he moved to class VIII he faced bullying from his classmates. Lakshya's mother used to pay the school canteen to ensure fresh food during lunch for him. But three of his classmates started harassing him and told him get some good food for them too. They allegedly threatened him and beat him up when he refused to comply. The incidents continued but Lakshya didn't tell his parents. But last December Lakshya's mother was shocked to see a huge bill from the canteen.

"I asked Lakshya about this but he didn't answer any of my questions. Then I noticed a drastic change in his behaviour. I felt that something wrong was happening to him. Finally one day he told me that three of his classmates were are also having food and making him foot the bill. On January 14 three of his classmates attacked Lakshya at our home. He was alone at the time. As I reached home I saw three of them bullying Lakshya and he was crying. I took all of them to the school and complained against them," said Jyoti Sharma.

Ground zero: South Delhi Public School at D Block, Defence
Colony in New Delhi. Pic/Subhash Barolia

The school promptly acted on the issue and the accused were suspended after the complaint but Lakshya went into severe depression. And the worst happened when the 14-year-old cut himself with a blade. Shocked by the incident his mother went to the school again and complained to the authorities about the condition of her son.

"I asked the school to look into the matter. The administration decided to ask Lakshya to sit alone on a seat. But this did not help," Jyoti added.

The boy's parents then sought help from an NGO, All India Youth Foundation which started helping in Lakshya's treatment including bearing the expenses.

"Lakshya has failed in his class and he still hides under his bed out of fear at night. We have sent him for counselling and we are also helping him with a Psychiatrist," said Pawan Manuja, District President, All India Youth Foundation.

Psychologist Dr. Ajay pal of Max Hospital said that youngsters these days are highly prone to depression. "This behaviour is very common in students of this age group but these are curable problems. Proper counselling and professional treatment will sort out such issues. Parents and teachers have a big role to play as the number of such cases among students is increasing day by day," he said.

When contacted by MiD DAY, the principal of the school Urmila Rawat said: The boy's parents had reported the matter very late. We have tried to help them as much as possible, even going out of our way on occasions. We will meet the child again and try to sort out the issues."

Why are Delhi's teens so angry?

Boy stabbed by classmates
A 15-year-old student who had come to Mother's International School for his board exam was stabbed by his two classmates outside the centre on March 18. The boy, who is a student of Prince Public School in Mehrauli, had reportedly refused to help them copy answers from his sheet during the exam. The police apprehended one of the juveniles while another one was absconding.

The victim, Shahrukh, arrived at Mother's International School on Aurbindo Marg for English exam. After the test while he was standing at a bus stand, he was stabbed by two juveniles. Officials added the accused juveniles probably procured the knife after the exam. After stabbing Shahrukh, they fled from the area. The PCR call was made after which Shahrukh was taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre where he is reportedly undergoing a surgery. Police added Shahrukh had received stab injuries on his chest and limbs and has reportedly recovered.

Class VII student shot dead
Two 14-year-old boys shot dead a classmate in a Gurgaon school in December 2007, apparently because he had bullied them several times. The horrific incident took place in Gurgaon's high-profile Euro International School. The two standard VII students Vikas and Aakash Yadav accosted their classmate Abhishek Tyagi in the school's corridor, and shot him with a US-made Harrison .32 bore revolver from close range.

Tyagi was rushed to the nearby Pushpanjali Hospital by school authorities but died on the way. He had been shot in the chest and the temple. Police said Aakash pumped four bullets into Abhishek and then gave the revolver to Vikas who fired one more bullet. Police said the two wanted to settle scores with Abhishek who had reportedly harassed them on several occasions.

Straight talk

There must be a psychologist in every school for frequent counselling of the students. There should be a strong system andu00a0 platform for the children to express their feelings and problems. These tactics will prevent depression.u00a0
u00a0--Ashok Agarwal, Social jurist

Lakshya needs counselling and psychological help. And the problem is not with him, but the other students who threatened him. The school must look into the matter. He might be feeling helpless and is in tremendous depression. The school must have a counselling system for problems like this.u00a0u00a0
u00a0--Shiv Visvanathan, Sociologist

This is a common occurrence in some high-end schools. It is very sad that some children become victims of sadist pleasure of bullies. The child doesn't share his agony with his friends. Lakshya should have been given emotional support.u00a0u00a0
--Shyama Chona, Educationist.