One year, no justice: Faridabad mother seeks justice for child who died due to bullying

The tragedy of a young child's suicide is one that no parent should have to endure, yet Aarti Malhotra has been living this nightmare since her son, Arvey, took his life in February of last year. Arvey was a 16-year-old student at the Delhi Public School in Greater Faridabad, and his suicide note left to his mother revealed that he was bullied and sexually assaulted at school, which led him to take his own life. Since then, Aarti has been fighting for justice, but it seems that justice is still a long way off.

According to Aarti, the bullying started in the sixth grade when Arvey's classmates began teasing him about his sexuality. They called him ‘gay,’ ‘chhakka,’ and ‘ladkiyon jaisa,’ which means effeminate. Although Aarti, who was also a teacher at the same school, complained to the authorities, they dismissed her concerns. Arvey tried to be manly by playing volleyball, but he wasn't good at it and was mocked for being feminine every step of the way.

By ninth grade, the bullying had escalated to sexual assault. One day, Arvey came home panicking and breathing heavily, saying that the boys in his class had blindfolded him and forced him to strip. Aarti was shocked and heartbroken, and she took her son to multiple therapists, but none of them seemed to be able to help. It wasn't until he found one therapist who helped him that he began to feel healthier and calmer. He even said he wanted to sing and enrolled in a class.

However, when school reopened, Arvey was triggered, and things got worse. He refused to take his exams, and when Aarti texted him saying it was okay to if he did not want to take his paper, he didn't reply. An hour later, she got a call from her society telling her to come home, and when she arrived, she found out that her son had jumped from the 15th floor of their building.

Since then, Aarti has been fighting for justice for her son, but it has been an uphill battle. She alleges that the school refused to take any action against the bullies. Aarti was even asked to sit back at home from her job soon after Arvey's death. Another teacher at the same school, whom Arvey had accused of harassment, was arrested. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against the senior academic coordinator of the school for aiding in Arvey's suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. But she was bailed out after a few days. Aarti has been in and out of the police station for the past year, but justice has still not been served.

It has been told by Arvey’s mother that he was bullied and harassed by nine kids, and charges were pressed against three of them after a charge sheet was released. Following an investigation into their involvement, the authorities have decided to invoke Sections 6 and 18 of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and include them in the First Information Report (FIR). The two students in question had already moved to another school at the time of the alleged suicide, according to a police officer who is a part of the Special Investigation Team tasked with investigating the case, as reported by The Indian Express.

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