Bengaluru: A nine-year-old girl studying in Class IV immolated herself at her Yelahanka New Town house on Monday, leaving behind a suicide note addressed to her mother.
A resident of Someshwara Extension, she was the only child of her widowed mother, and studied in a private English medium school in the area.
Jurisdictional police said they were convinced that the girl herself had written the suicide note after verifying the handwriting with her mother and teachers.
Preliminary probe indicated that pressure from her mother to attend school regularly might have led to the tragedy.
In the half-page suicide note in Kannada, the girl wrote: “My dear mother, I did not attend classes for the last one week. I beg your pardon for that. I am parting ways with you but I continue to be with you even after my death. I love you Amma.”
The girl’s parents hailed from Onti Gundal village in Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. They moved to Bengaluru a few years ago. The girl’s father, an autorickshaw driver, died of ill health in 2009. The mother is a garment factory worker at Puttenahalli on Doddaballapur Road, said the police.
She would leave for work after sending her daughter to school. The mother was upset as the school authorities informed her recently that the girl attended school for only four days in November. She had told the authorities that her daughter was unwell. She then warned her daughter not to skip classes in future.
After the mother left for work on Monday, the girl returned home, doused herself with kerosene and set herself ablaze.
When the mother returned home late at night, she found the house in darkness. When she switched on the lights, she was shocked to see the charred body of her daughter on the floor.
She cried for help and neighbours, who were unaware of the whole incident, rushed to help. Soon, the police were summoned and the suicide note was found near the body.
School principal Beere Gowda told Deccan Herald: “She was a very bright student.”
