Suicide case: Bengaluru dental student harassed over skin tone, six lecturers sacked

Police probing the suicide of a Bengaluru dental student found she was allegedly humiliated by lecturers over her skin tone, dressing style and absence due to illness. Six faculty members were dismissed after an FIR was filed, and investigations are ongoing

Bengaluru: Investigation into the Bengaluru dental student suicide case has found that the girl took the extreme step allegedly due to humiliation at the hands of her lecturers over her skin tone, police said on Tuesday.

Yashaswini, a 23-year-old student of a private dental college in Bengaluru, was also humiliated over her dressing style, the police added. After the registration of an FIR in the case, the management of the private dental college, located in the Bommanahalli area of Bengaluru, has dismissed six lecturers.

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Yashaswini was reportedly insulted with remarks such as, “How can someone with dark skin become a doctor?” The humiliation is said to have deeply affected her and driven her to take the extreme step. It has also been alleged that when she took leave for a day, citing eye pain.

She was denied the opportunity to present a seminar and handle a radiology case, and was verbally abused using derogatory remarks.

Yashaswini died by suicide on January 8. Her family members and classmates have alleged that harassment by lecturers was the reason behind her death. Following the incident, they gathered at the mortuary premises and raised slogans against the college management.

A complaint was lodged at the Suryanagar Police Station against five persons, including the college principal, alleging caste-based abuse and harassment by faculty members that allegedly led to the student’s death.

After the FIR was registered, the college management dismissed six lecturers. The dismissed faculty members belong to the Oral Medicine and Radiology (OMR) Department. Yashaswini’s mother, Parimala, demanded strict legal action against the lecturers responsible for her daughter’s death. “My daughter dreamed of becoming a doctor and serving society. But the college lecturers crushed her dreams. The justice my daughter deserves should send a strong message to all students,” she said.

The incident was reported from Chandapura near Anekal, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Yashaswini was a third-year dental student studying in the Oral Medicine and Radiology division.

According to her parents, she was harassed in class for remaining absent for a single day due to an eye-related problem. It is alleged that she did not attend classes on January 7 because of eye pain. When she returned to college the next day, a lecturer allegedly made sarcastic remarks about the eye drops she had used, asking how many drops she had applied and whether she had poured an entire bottle into her eye.

She was also allegedly denied permission to present a seminar and was not allowed to handle a radiology case.

Parimala alleged that her daughter was humiliated in front of the entire class for taking leave for a day. “She had an eye injury and informed us about it. She was insulted over her eye problem in front of her classmates. She shared everything with me. Don’t they have children? The lecturer and the college management humiliated my daughter, following which she took the extreme step,” the victim’s mother said.

She further stated that her daughter was a diligent and rank-holding student and that the humiliation deeply affected her.

“She was sensitive and feared that she might get poor marks, which would upset me. I have only one daughter. Whom should I share my grief with? No other child should face such injustice,” Parimala said. The police have taken up further investigation.