Class 7 Cadet Dies by Suicide After Alleged Ragging; Police Detain 8 Seniors
Sister alleges savage ragging pushed 12-year-old to suicide.
A 12-year-old Class 7 cadet at Sainik School Niglok in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang district was found dead on school grounds on November 1, sparking allegations of brutal ragging. His sister, Tadu Lunia—Miss Arunachal 2024—posted a tearful Instagram video on Wednesday, claiming senior students tortured him for hours the previous night. She said the family was told it was suicide, but dormitory mates revealed a horrifying ordeal that drove him to the edge.
According to Lunia, eight Class 10 and three Class 8 students entered the juniors’ dorm after 11 pm on October 31, with no staff supervision. They forced the boys to cover their heads with blankets, then singled out her brother and took him to the seniors’ dorm. Behind closed doors, he was allegedly harassed mentally and physically all night, falsely accused of stealing a book, and threatened with public humiliation via a recorded confession at morning assembly.
CCTV footage reviewed by police showed the boy pacing anxiously around 5:45 am before entering a classroom. There, he wrote his final note: "Seniors tortured me a lot, and I don’t know what I will do now." Lunia expressed heartbreak, fearing her public identity was weaponized against him, and criticized delays in the post-mortem report and slow investigation progress.
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Arunachal Pradesh Police detained the eight senior students on Tuesday and presented them before the Juvenile Justice Board in Pasighat. The board ordered seven-day custody under the school’s vice-principal, with guardians required to submit bonds. The case, initially filed under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, was upgraded after the father’s November 3 FIR accusing ragging as the trigger for abetment to suicide.
The incident has ignited outrage over persistent ragging in elite institutions despite strict anti-ragging policies. Student unions visited the campus demanding transparency, while Lunia urged public support to ensure justice and prevent future tragedies. Authorities promised a thorough probe, but the family fears interference, highlighting the urgent need for systemic reform in residential schools.
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