Alleging financial stress in her suicide note, a second-year
student of Lady Shri Ram College has died by suicide at her hometown in
Telangana. In the incident that occurred last week, the student’s father, a
motor mechanic by profession in the Ranga Reddy district in Telangana, said
that she was an IAS aspirant but the family was unable to buy her a second-hand
laptop during the pandemic, Indian Express reported.

According to local police, the deceased, a B.Sc. Mathematics
(Honours) student, hanged herself at her residence in Shadnagar on 2nd
November. The family said that the she left behind a note in Telegu, stating, “Because
of me, my family is facing many financial problems. I am a burden for my
family. My education is a burden. If I can’t study, I can’t live,”.

The girl’s father Srinivas Reddy said that after she got selected in the prestigious college last year, he mortgaged their
two-bedroom house for Rs 2 lakh, and claimed that he is still paying off the
loan.

“… My daughter had returned home in February after the college closed. In October, she asked if I could buy her a laptop as
online classes had started and she was finding it difficult to attend them on
her phone. She said even a used laptop would do. I told her to wait for a few
days. She did not ask again,” Reddy further said.

Suman Sharma, Principal of LSR, said that she had
not approached the college for any financial assistance.

 “It is a huge loss
and it is very unfortunate that we were unable to help her.  However, she had never approached any teacher
from the mathematics department or hostel authorities with her issues. The
college has many schemes and scholarships but she never asked for assistance.
We also have many mechanisms for mental health help, but unfortunately she had
not reached out for those either,” Indian Express quoted her as saying.

A recipient of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s
INSPIRE scholarship, her note stated, “Ensure INSPIRE scholarship is
given at least for one year.” Available in three separate forms – for Undergraduate,
for postgraduate and for PhD or faculty members, the scholarships can be
availed for up to five years.

While Reddy alleges the scholarship was delayed, a letter
received by her from the DST dates August 6, 2020 stated that she had
been “provisionally selected” for the for the scholarship and that the release
of the annual sum of Rs 80,000 was subject to bank account details and Aadhar
card copies being submitted before December 31, 2020.

Dr Sanjay Mishra, The Current in-charge of the INSPIRE
program at the Department of Science and Technology, maintained that “Sometimes
a delay may occur in cases for technical issues — such as if the student has
not uploaded all required documents on the scholarship website, whether the
previous money has been used, or if the student has failed to meet the minimum
marks criteria, which is 60 per cent for a second-year student. The process of
disbursal of funds is 45 days from the time of application,”.

Reddy further claimed that her daughter was asked to vacate
her college hostel in October, as the LSR hostel is available only for first-year
students.

“Arrangements had to be made to move to a hired
accommodation. I told her not to worry and that I will manage the money, though
I had no idea where from. On November 2, she insisted on feeding me with her
own hand. And then she took the extreme step,” he said.