Telangana Student, Barred From Exam For Reaching Late, Dies By Suicide

A Class 11 student, upset after he was barred from taking an exam because he reached late, has died by suicide in Telangana's Adilabad district.

The body of Tekum Siva Kumar was recovered from Satnala dam this afternoon. A suicide note was found near the landing he must have jumped from. His watch, wallet and other items were found with the note. In his wallet were two photographs - his and his father's.

The note in Telugu read, "I am sorry, daddy, forgive me. I am not able to cope with this trauma. You have done a lot for me, but I am not able to do anything for you. I have never felt this bad. I have missed the exam for the first time. I am feeling terrible," the note says.

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed near the dam when the youngster's body was brought out of the water and his relatives broke down.

About 10 lakh students of the Telangana state education board are taking the intermediate exams that started yesterday. Siva Kumar's death has brought under the spotlight a strict rule of the Telangana board that a student won't be allowed to take the test even if he reaches the exam centre a minute late. As the exams started, students were seen running to their exam centres. Many of them, barred from taking the exam because they were late by a few minutes, were seen crying outside and pleading with the examiners to let them in.