School Boy Kills Self After Losing Class President Election

A 13-year-old boy killed himself after he lost a class president election. The incident took place in the southern Indian state of Telangana on Friday.

Police said the boy, identified as Charan, was missing since Thursday evening. The following afternoon, he was found dead on the railway track and his body was crushed beyond recognition.

“In the wee hours, we received a complaint from the parents of 13-year-old boy stating that he was missing since Thursday evening. Immediately, a missing case was registered and on Friday afternoon he was found dead on the railway track at Ramannapet area,” a police officer said.

“It is noticed that he was disturbed for the past three days as he lost the class leadership elections in his school. He was studying in 8th standard and three days ago the school management had conducted elections in his class for class leader and he lost the elections against a girl student,” he added.

Speaking to local daily the Times of India, the boy’s mother said, “He told us that he lost the fight by six votes and was upset. On Thursday, he distributed sweets in school saying he was the second leader in class. I heard from his friends that a few students said there was no such thing as a ‘second leader.’”

The boy left home Thursday saying he had to go to a store.

“I met him after school. He looked very dull. When he did not return home, we went out to search for him,” the boy’s mother said, adding that they filed a missing complaint in the wee hours of Friday.

Though the family believes the boy killed himself after losing the election, the school refuted the claims.

"The election took place on July 16, and two class representatives were elected, a girl and a boy. The next day, he got sweets for the class. He spent over Rs.1000 ($14) for the sweets. We suspect some dispute in the family led to his suicide. The family runs a business. We found that he had taken the money without informing his parents," the school’s spokesperson said.

The boy’s body was sent for autopsy and a case of suspicious death was filed. The investigation was ongoing.