Thiruvananthapuram: A private school in Pampady, Kottayam district, was attacked by infuriated student activists after a Grade 9 boy of the school committed suicide, allegedly because he learnt he would be failed to ensure a better pass percentage for the school in next year’s class 10 examinations.

The management of the Crossroads Higher Secondary School in Pampady denied the allegation that the school resorted to deliberately failing students. But enraged student activists attached to the Students Federation of India marched to the school and pelted stones at the building, causing damage to the building and fixtures.

Dozens of protesters stormed into the school compound on Sunday morning, destroyed the nameboard and pelted stones at the building, breaking window panes. The protesters ran riot all around the campus for several minutes, causing widespread damage.

Police forces were ready at the school campus, aware of the protest, and the activists clashed with the police. Police resorted to firing tear gas shells and some of the protesters were injured in the skirmish.

The deceased student was identified as Jinto Eapen, son of Eapen Varghese, a resident of Kottayam district. Jinto’s mother, Bindi is a schoolteacher in the same district. Jinto was his parents’ only son.

Jinto was found dead in his home on Saturday evening. His parents suspect that he took his life as he feared that he would be failed in class 9, so that the school would be assured of a hundred per cent pass in the class 10 examination next year.

The school authorities had informed the boy’s parents about his low marks in school, but not that he was going to be failed, reports said. </s> Kottayam (Ker): A group of SFI activists today vandalised a private school near here alleging that a Class 9 male student committed suicide after school authorities reportedly decided not to promote him to the 10th standard.

The SFI activists, who took out a march to the school at Pambady, alleged that Jinto Eapen, who was weak in studies, committed suicide fearing that the school would not promot him to the 10th standard next year, police said.

They also alleged that the teachers had spoken to Jinto’s parents in this regard.

The school authorities however told TV channels that no such decision had been taken.

The 14-year-old student allegedly committed suicide by hanging at his residence yesterday.

Eapen’s parents have not reacted to the incident.

Police said they used force to disperse the SFI activists who allegedly barged into the school building and vandalised it. </s> Members of Students’ Federation of India (SFI) allegedly protested on Sunday, April 1, after Binto, a Class 9 student of Crossroads School, Pampady in Kerala committed suicide. The family of the victim alleged that the school management refused to him to next class, which lead to such an extreme step. He committed suicide on Saturday night. According to the deceased’s father, he was quite sad because the school refused to promote him in class 10 as he scored poor marks in grade 9. After the incident, members of Students’ Federation of India, barged into the campus and allegedly damaged the school property.

In order to control the violent protesters, police had to resort to lathi charge. Meanwhile, Binto’s father said that the school threatened to remove his son, the management rejected the allegations. The school told the media, that the management of the school never threatened the boy over class promotion. However, the administration accepted that according to passing rules, those who score below 40% in class 9 would not be promoted to class 10. According to passing rules, those who score below 40% in class 9 would not be promoted to class 10. The members of the left-affiliated student’s body, SFI has demanded a special investigation into the suicide incident.

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According to a report published by IndiaSpend, in 2015, the number of student suicides stood at 8,934. There are many factors that contribute to the high number of suicide rates among young students, such as- failure in examination, career crisis, family issues, sexual harassment, psychological instability, relationship issues among others. Sikkim is India’s 3rd richest state (after Delhi and Chandigarh), by per capita income, and its literacy rate is India’s seventh highest.

ALSO READ: 8-year-old girl inspired by crime show commits suicide by hanging herself in Uttar Pradesh </s> Close to 2,000 Christians in India came out to protest and block roads in Tamil Nadu state, demanding justice for a pastor who was beaten, tortured, and hanged following disputes with Hindu radicals. Police claim the pastor committed suicide.

UCANews reported that the Christians gathered for the protest on Monday, days after Pastor Gideon Periyaswamy was found hanging from a rope in a home close to his church.

Police inspector Amal Raj argued that "prima facie it appears to be a case of suicide but we are looking at all possible angles."

Members of Periyaswamy's congregation who found his body said that he displayed signs of being beaten and tortured, however, and was missing a gold ring from his finger.

The pastor had filed a complaint with police following trouble with Hindu hardliners, who did not want him preaching.

The 43-year-old unmarried pastor was known as a "prayer warrior" for his deep devotion and long five- to six-hour prayer sessions.

Pastor Azariah Reuben, a close friend of the victim, explained that local Hindus "were not happy with growing Christianity."

"They had several times tried to stop the ministry," Reuben said.

Pastor Immanuel Prabhakaran, who had also worked with Periyaswamy, said that local leaders also did not want him speaking about the Gospel with lower-caste people in the area.

"Not a single Sunday service in the past six months passed off peacefully without disturbance," Prabhakaran said.

Lawyer Gini Immanuel added that Periyaswamy, whom he helped file the complaints, had many issues with the hardliners.

"Once the church water supply was cut and the church's roof was demolished. I intervened in the matter and represented the issue to the district authorities," Immanuel revealed.

The Rev. Joel Sekar of the Synod of Pentecostal Churches said that believers will continue protesting on the streets until a fair post mortem is carried out and until the pastor receives justice.

Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the British Asian Christian Association, pushed back against police claims that the pastor took his own life.

"The circumstances of his death especially the removal of his gold ring, the lack of a suicide note, the visible bruising and numerous threats and previous incidents, all point in the direction of foul play. Intolerant local police are shamefully choosing to ignore tangible evidence," Chowdhry argued.

"Exhibited police insouciance and apathy when investigating crimes against Christians serves to embolden radicals who gain a sense of impunity, for as long as this continues we can only expect more crimes of this nature in India," he added.

Chowdhry warned that India is slowly regressing toward the kind of "anarchy" that has consumed Pakistan, where Christian victims of religious-based violence often do not receive help or justice from local authorities. </s> Police sources said a protesting civilian, Adil Ahmad, injured during the clashes was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the Kulgam district hospital

Five civilians were killed on Sunday in clashes with security forces after five militants were killed in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district.

Police sources said a protesting civilian, Adil Ahmad, injured during the clashes was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the Kulgam district hospital. Reports from the area said Adil was injured in Behibagh village in Kulgam district.

Three other civilians, Sajad Ahmad of Dooru in Anantnag district, Zubair Ahmad of Pulwama and Yasir Ahmad of Shopian, also succumbed to their injuries. Earlier, Asif Ahmad of Rohmou village of Pulwama died in a Srinagar hospital due to injuries suffered in the clashes.

Over a dozen civilians were injured in the clashes between the protesters and the security forces.

A mob torched two fire tenders during the protests.

Five militants, including Hizbul commander Saddam Paddar, Kashmir University assistant professor Muhammad Rafi Bhat, Tawseef Sheikh, Molvi Bilal and Adil Ahmad, were killed in the Shopian gunfight.

The slain professor belonged to Chunduna village of Ganderbal district. Authorities have suspended classes in the Kashmir University on Monday and Tuesday.

Authorities have handed over the professor's body to his family for burial in his Chunduna village in Ganderbal district.

After the professor's death, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: "Sadly this is also an answer to those who claim jobs and development are the solution to the violence and alienation in Kashmir.

"This is another tragic development in a steady stream of tragedies in Kashmir," he said.

Mobile Internet services in south Kashmir and in Ganderbal district have been suspended to prevent the spread of rumours.

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This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever </s> Five civilians were killed on Sunday in clashes with security forces after five militants were killed in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district.

Police sources said a protesting civilian Adil Ahmad injured during the clashes was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the Kulgam district hospital. Reports from the area said Adil was injured in Behibagh village in Kulgam district.

Three other civilians Sajad Ahmad of Dooru in Anantnag district Zubair Ahmad of Pulwama and Yasir Ahmad of Shopian also succumbed to their injuries. Earlier Asif Ahmad of Rohmou village of Pulwama died in a Srinagar hospital due to injuries suffered in the clashes.

Over a dozen civilians were injured in the clashes between the protesters and the security forces. A mob torched two fire tenders during the protests.

Five militants including Hizbul commander Saddam Paddar Kashmir University assistant professor Muhammad Rafi Bhat Tawseef Sheikh Molvi Bilal and Adil Ahmad were killed in the Shopian gunfight.

The slain professor belonged to Chunduna village of Ganderbal district. Authorities have suspended classes in the Kashmir University on Monday and Tuesday. Authorities have handed over the professor s body to his family for burial in his Chunduna village in Ganderbal district.

After the professor s death former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: “Sadly this is also an answer to those who claim jobs and development are the solution to the violence and alienation in Kashmir.

“This is another tragic development in a steady stream of tragedies in Kashmir ” he said. Mobile Internet services in south Kashmir and in Ganderbal district have been suspended to prevent the spread of rumours. </s> Crosses are seen in a park to commemorate the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland - REUTERS

Two teenagers who survived America's deadliest high school shooting have committed suicide in the last week, bringing fresh tragedy to the Florida community.

A 17-year-old boy who attended the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida - where 17 people were killed last year - died on Saturday in what police are treating as a suicide.

The boy, who has not been named, was in his second year of high school and reportedly died from a gun shot wound to the head.

It comes just days after Sydney Aiello, a 19-year-old recent graduate of the school, took her own life. Ms Aiello's family said the teenager had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffered from survivor’s guilt after the shooting, in which one of her best friends, Meadow Pollack, was shot dead.

Former student Nikolas Cruz entered the high school armed with a semi-automatic rifle on February 14, 2018 and left 14 students and three staff members dead, with 17 others wounded.

Sydney, who was not in the room during the shooting, went on to study at Florida Atlantic University but struggled to attend classes because she was afraid of being in a classroom.

Meadow's father Andrew Pollack, who has since become a gun reform activist, told the Miami Herald "Meadow and Sydney were friends for a long, long time".

"It’s terrible what happened," he said. "Killing yourself is not the answer".

The fresh tragedy has drawn calls in Florida for increased spending on suicide prevention programmes and more mental health services for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school community.

More than 60 local school, child services and law enforcement officials met with teachers and parents for an emergency meeting on Sunday.

"Now is the time for the Florida Legislature to help," said Jared Moskowitz, Florida’s emergency management director and a former state representative from Parkland.

Another survivor, David Hogg, who has become a prominent gun control advocate since the massacre, added his voice to calls.

"How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government/school district to do anything?" he tweeted.

The city's mayor Christine Hunschofsky said Monday that officials are publicising the available counseling services.

In a separate development, the father of a 6-year-old killed in the Sandy Hook school massacre died of an apparent suicide on Monday.

Jeremy Richman's body was found in his Connecticut office building Monday morning, Newtown police said.

Mr Richman, 49, had dedicated his time to helping prevent mass shootings after his daughter Avielle was among 20 children and six adults killed in the elementary school in 2012.

Police said they will not disclose the method or any other details surrounding Mr Richman's death but said that it does not appear to be suspicious. </s> DHAKA: Bangladesh shut down high schools across the country on Thursday as tens of thousands of students protested for a fifth straight day after two teenagers were killed by a speeding bus.

Bangladesh’s transport sector is widely seen as corrupt, unregulated, and dangerous, and as news of the teenagers’ deaths spread rapidly on social media, they became a catalyst for a massive outpouring of anger.

Authorities have pleaded with students to call off the protests that have near-paralysed Dhaka and spread beyond the capital, with vehicles vandalised and clashes with police in some parts. The demonstrators, mostly students in their mid-teens, chanted "we want justice" on Thursday as they defied pouring rain to march in Dhaka for another day, bringing traffic to a standstill.

The education ministry shut down high schools on Thursday in an effort to quell unrest, promising students their demands for reforms to road safety would be considered. But anger has not subdued since a bus racing for passengers killed a boy and a girl on the roadside on Sunday, igniting the protests.

Protesters are blaming the government for failing to enforce traffic laws, and an insensitive comment by Shajahan Khan, a government minister with ties to powerful transport unions, triggered fresh outrage.

Khan questioned why there was such an uproar over the two Dhaka children but no reaction when 33 people were killed in an Indian bus crash the day before. There have been widespread social media demands for his resignation even though the minister later apologised. </s> The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At least three students are dead and “scores” are trapped in the rubble after a walkway collapsed at a school outside Johannesburg, a South African official said Friday.

Panyaza Lesufi, the head of education for Gauteng province, posted the toll on Twitter shortly after the collapse at the Hoerskool Driehoek high school in Vanderbijlpark.

It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse.

Emergency services provider Netcare911 said at least four people may have died and at least five people were critically injured.

The national Department of Education extended condolences to the families of the students killed.

A statement by AfriForum, a civil society organization that represents the rights of Afrikaners, sent out a notice urging people to avoid the area so as not to interfere with the work of emergency responders.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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In response to the suicide of a student, protestors attack Crossroads Higher Secondary School in Pampady, India, and clash with police.