Suicide By Students: Odisha In 2nd Spot Among States; Issue Raised In Assembly

Bhubaneswar: More than 1,400 students died by suicide in Odisha during 2020, the second highest in the country, according to a report released by Odisha police.

Citing the report, the opposition BJP on Monday raised the issue in the Assembly and demanded a debate on it.

According to the report, a total of 1,469 students died by suicide in Odisha in 2020. Maharashtra topped the list with 1,648 suicides by students while Madhya Pradesh is in third spot with 1,158 such suicides in 2020.

“A total of 379 students ended their lives in 2019, 501 in 2018, 361 in 2017 and 390 in 2016. A total of 3,100 suicides took place in five years i.e between 2020 and 2017. Of them, 1,848 were girls,” the report said.

The report comes amid the death of Ruchika Mohanty, a Plus 3, first-year student of BJB College in Bhubaneswar. She was found hanging in a room of the college hostel on Saturday. A purported note found by police points at ragging and harassment by three seniors as the reason behind the 19-year-old’s extreme step.

The Ruchika case rocked the Assembly on Monday morning and Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukh adjourned the House till 11.30 am after Opposition members created ruckus over it.