A teenager allegedly died by suicide in India after a video went viral of her stealing chocolate at a shopping mall. The unidentified teen went to a mall with her younger sister in West Bengal on September 29, according to Yahoo.
The teen's father, Ratan Ghosh, said his daughter, reportedly in her third year of college, was caught on video stealing the chocolate. She later apologized and paid the price of the chocolate she stole.
However, some mall employees reportedly took photos and videos of the incident and shared them on social media despite the teenager pleading against it. A video of the stealing incident has since gone viral locally.
Teen's dad crying for justice after daughter's suicide
Ghosh told reporters that his daughter had made a mistake. But they had taken his child's money, and even then, they still harassed her. He noted that his daughter pleaded with them not to post the video.
According to the teen's family, she allegedly died by suicide at home on Sunday night out of humiliation. They found her hanging, and her family sent her body for a post-mortem examination. According to Jaigaon police station officer Prabir Dutta, an investigation into the teen's death is currently underway.
Ghosh was mad at those who posted the video, saying they should have taken action per the law. He asked why they had to make the video go viral when they already took her money. The grieving dad lamented that he would never be able to get his daughter back, and they would never be able to bring back his daughter.
Locals protest outside the shopping mall after teen's tragic death
Locals who were angered by the teen's death staged a protest outside the shopping mall. Villagers reportedly gathered on Monday outside the Jaigaon police station for the protest. They demanded strong action against the people who posted the viral photo and video, causing the teen's suicide.
Dutta said that the incident is being investigated as a case of abetment to suicide. He also assured the locals protesting that those behind the viral video and photo would be arrested.
However, no arrests have been made yet in connection with the release of the viral photo and video as of press time. Shopping mall authorities have not commented as well regarding the incident that has been grabbing the headlines in the country.
According to India Spend, India reported the highest suicide rate in the country's history last year, with 12 suicides recorded for every 100,000 people in 2021. A little more than a quarter of suicide victims in India were women.
