New Delhi: A Class XII student allegedly set herself ablaze behind the guard room of a govt school in east Delhi’s Shahdara Saturday, with police suspecting suicide. Police sources said an alleged note had been found at the spot.Police received a PCR call about a fire at the school and rushed to the spot, where the 18-year-old student was found in a severely burnt condition. She was pronounced dead at a hospital. An empty bottle and the student’s school bag were found at the spot.Police sources said investigators were probing all angles, including her academic records, family circumstances and a possible relationship. A senior officer refused to comment on the contents of the note, saying they are being examined to establish their authenticity.The student apparently left her classroom after a lesson, saying she was going to drink water. Two to three minutes later, screams were heard, and she was found severely burnt near the tank. Asked to confirm these details, a police officer said the matter was under investigation and the circumstances leading to the incident were yet to be established.Police suspect she might have brought a flammable substance to school in the bottle found near her. A crime team has collected evidence from the spot.A fire official said they received information around 11.58am that a student had allegedly set herself on fire inside the school. “We found the student in a burnt condition behind a water tank. Her face was completely burnt,” he said.The girl’s elder sister told reporters that she and their niece had dropped the girl at school and she appeared happy. “She was laughing when she went inside. I don’t know what happened after that,” the elder sister said, breaking down in tears.She added that she had received a call from the school around 12.40pm, informing her that something serious had happened. Another relative said she reached the school around 1pm and got to know about the incident.The girl’s uncle raised suspicions of a foul play and questioned why her school bag was not checked. He said her parents had gone to Koderma in Jharkhand following her maternal grandmother’s death. “It is impossible that she could have set herself on fire. She was a good student and was not facing any issues. False information was being spread about her,” he said.The uncle wondered how the incident could have gone unnoticed despite CCTV cameras and staff’s presence at the school. He also alleged that the family was informed late and demanded that the possibility of another person being involved should be investigated.Education minister Ashish Sood, who visited the school, said police were investigating the incident and the school was cooperating with them. “It is a deeply tragic incident… The school has submitted all relevant evidence to police… We request some time for the investigation to proceed. Further details will be shared once the investigation is complete,” he said.
