Hyderabad: A 17-year-old intermediate student died by suicide by hanging on Tuesday, July 28, allegedly after being humiliated by a lecturer in front of his classmates.

The deceased has been identified as Netibottu Tarun, a resident of Kothapalli village in Gadwal rural mandal, Jogulamba Gadwal district, a student at a government junior college.

Tarun scored 434 out of 440 in his first-year Intermediate examination and secured the second rank in the district, whereas another student in his class scored 435.

According to reports, a female lecturer allegedly humiliated him by comparing his score to that of the other student, asking him if scoring 434 marks made him exceptional. She allegedly continued to question him if he thought he was a minister’s son and slapped him in front of the class, which allegedly burst into laughter.

Distressed by the alleged treatment, Tarun reportedly confronted the lecturer and had stopped attending classes for two days before the incident.

On Tuesday, when no one was home, Tarun allegedly wrote a three-page suicide note and hanged himself from a ceiling fan. In the note, he reportedly said teachers should encourage students, not humiliate them, and that she should understand how deeply a sensitive person is hurt by insult. He also reportedly asked that action be taken against the lecturer and said he wanted the incident known to everyone.

Police rushed to the spot and shifted the body for post-mortem examination. The suicide note has reportedly gone viral on social media, drawing widespread grief and criticism of the lecturer’s alleged conduct.

On Wednesday, family members and student organisations held a dharna demanding that a case be registered against the lecturer, who has been identified as a contract lecturer at the college. An investigation is underway.