'Suicide girls were victims of harassment'

KERALA: The probe into the suicide of three teenaged girls at a higher secondary school in Ambalappuzha last month has taken a new turn with the local action council claiming the students were victims of sexual harassment and blackmailing.

The council was formed by villagers after the incident for taking up the issue with the authorities.
     
Mobile video clippings purportedly of the girls being subjected to sexual acts by some youths have surfaced, prompting the police to look into the harassment angle.

The girls, studying in plus-two class in the Government Model Vocational Higher Secondary School were found to have committed suicide, reportedly by entering into a pact, inside a classroom on November 17 night.
     
The initial police version, based on the statements from teachers and the suicide note recovered from the spot, was that the trio had committed suicide under emotional stress
caused by failed love affairs.

The girls reportedly sneaked into the deserted school compound late in the evening and consumed soft drinks laced with poison.
    
The post-mortem report also said that the girls, all in the 17 to 18 age group, had been "subjected to sexual acts". 

Based on the council's plea and media reports, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had asked Inspector General Vinson Paul to oversee the investigation.
     
A report has been sought from the Superintendent of Police, police said.