An eighth class student, Geddam Sravanthi (12), died under suspicious circumstances in the Social Welfare Residential School Hostel, in Marteru village of Penumantra mandal in the district.
Students, who reportedly noticed the body hanging to the ceiling in a classroom alerted the staff. The Penumantra police registered a case on Friday, and shifted the body to Government Hospital for post-mortem.
A native of Podalada village in Iragavaram mandal of West Godavari district, Sravanthi was a semi-orphan, and was studying in the hostel for the last two years. Her father, Suresh, is a labourer and mother died a few years ago, said the Penumantra police.
The girl was staying with her grandparents and she brought ₹600 while coming from home on October 20. Sravanthi reportely kept ₹400 with hostel warden, V. Anitha and ₹200 with helper, G. Shalini.
In a suicide note left behind, the victim allegedly stated that she committed theft from her aunt’s house and committed a mistake. The amount was kept with the hostel warden and helper and she wanted to go to her mother, the police said.
Following a complaint lodged by Sravanthi’s grandfather, Satyanarayana, alleging that the girl was murdered and then the hostel staff projected it as a suicide, a case has been registered under Section 174 of the Cr.P.C.
Meanwhile, West Godavari Collector Kartikeya Misra suspended warden Anita, cook Ammaji, and helper Shalini. He directed the Social Welfare and police to conduct an inquiry into the cause of the student’s death.
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