‘I Don’t Want to Go to School,’ Said 9-Year-Old Amaira Before Taking Her Life

A tragic incident has occurred at a renowned school in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India — the Neerja Modi School. On 1 November, Amaira Meena, a fourth-grade student aged nine, committed suicide by jumping from the school’s four-storey building. She died instantly at the scene. Amaira’s parents allege that their daughter had long been subjected to bullying, teasing, and “sexually suggestive” verbal harassment by her classmates. Despite repeatedly reporting these issues, the school authorities allegedly took no action.

Amaira’s mother, Shivani Meena, revealed that a year ago she recorded a WhatsApp audio clip of her daughter crying. In the recording, the young fourth-grader can be heard sobbing: “I don’t want to go to school… don’t send me to school.”

Shivani Meena claims that she sent this audio to her daughter’s class teacher. Over the past year, she repeatedly spoke with the class teacher and the class coordinator, but according to her, the school either dismissed her concerns or completely ignored them.

Amaira’s father, Vijay Meena, said that during a parent-teacher meeting, a group of boys was seen signalling towards Amaira and another boy. Amaira hid behind her father in embarrassment. He reported the incident to the teacher.

Vijay Meena added: “The teacher told me that it is a co-educational school and that Amaira should learn to speak with all children, including boys. I told her that whether my daughter talks to a boy or not should be her personal decision.”

Investigators have reviewed CCTV footage from the classroom. The footage shows that Amaira approached her teacher twice just minutes before she jumped over the railing. However, it is unclear what she said, as the CCTV footage has no audio.

Amaira’s uncle, Sahil, has raised serious questions regarding the incident. He said: “We want answers. We want to know how a school with 5,000 students and a six-storey building was allowed additional floors without safety grills or nets. Isn’t this a basic safety measure? Why is there no audio on the CCTV footage despite CBSE guidelines? This is a prestigious school in Jaipur. They charge hefty fees, but where is the accountability?”

Jaipur Deputy Commissioner of Police, Rajarshi Raj Verma, told NDTV that they have recorded the parents’ statements and are verifying all information. He said: “The parents were not in a position to speak earlier, but now we are documenting their concerns and will investigate.”

District Education Officer (Primary), Ramnivas Sharma, stated that within the next two to three days, his department will record the parents’ statements in the presence of police.

Regarding the allegations of the use of “abusive language,” the officer noted that the matter had not come directly to his attention, but some students reported that Amaira did not want to go to school that day and that a few other students had used inappropriate words.

The school authorities have not yet commented on this tragic incident or the allegations surrounding it.