Sainik School, Ruksin student suicide case
Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 5 Nov: Days after a 12-year-old Class 7 student was found dead at Sainik School, Ruksin, in East Siang district, his sister has shared a harrowing video alleging that her brother was bullied by senior students at the school.
The student’s sister, Miss Arunachal 2024, Tadu Lunia, shared a video message on her Instagram page, stating that the family was informed that her brother had died by suicide.
In her video, Lunia said that when the family went to collect her late brother’s belongings, his classmates and dormitory mates revealed that on the night of 31 October, eight students from Class 10 and three from Class 8 entered the Class 7 dormitory after 11 pm, when the lights were off and no authority or warden was present. They allegedly ragged all the students in the dormitory.
The dormitory mates also informed the family that the senior boys had asked everyone to cover their heads with blankets, except for Lunia’s brother, as they took away the 12-year-old boy, Lunia stated in her video.
“The boys who witnessed the incident on 31 October told us that my brother was taken alone to the Class 10 dormitory. Nobody knows what happened behind that closed door,” Lunia said.
She further stated that some eyewitnesses informed the family that her brother was not allowed to sleep and was tortured and harassed-both mentally and physically-for hours inside the Class 10 dormitory.
Some even alleged that he was forced to write and say aloud that he was a thief, as he had taken away a book without permission, and was threatened by the senior boys that they would film him saying, ‘Miss Arunachal Tadu Lunia’s brother is a thief,’ during the morning assembly and make it viral.
“I never thought that my name could be a burden in the last few hours of his life,” said Lunia.
She added, “The investigating officer showed us CCTV footage where my brother was seen restlessly walking up and down the dormitory around 5:45 am, clearly showing how mentally disturbed he was.
He was also seen entering a classroom and writing a note. His last words were, ‘Seniors tortured me a lot, and I don’t know what I will do now.'”
When the family questioned the seniors, they reportedly said, “We were also ragged by our seniors, and it is natural for us to rag our juniors as well.”
“Bullying is punishable, and yet they chose to do it and even admitted to it,” said Lunia. She added that before joining Sainik School, every student signs an undertaking not to engage in any form of bullying or ragging, and that violators would be rusticated from the school.
“My brother was bright, brave, and smart. I don’t believe such small accusations could have driven him to take his own life,” she said.
Lunia further expressed disappointment that even after four days, there has been no update on the post-mortem report and little progress in the investigation.
“I fear that there may be external interference that could hinder justice for my brother, even though we know the names of all the students involved,” she said.
She appealed to the people of the state to support her in seeking justice for her brother.
“I lost my brother today – and it could be anyone’s tomorrow if we don’t take the right steps now,” Lunia said in a heart-wrenching video message.
Meanwhile, following the police investigation into the alleged abetment of suicide, eight students have been produced before the Juvenile Justice Board in Pasighat.
