ITANAGAR, Nov 6: Fresh allegations have emerged surrounding the death of a 12-year-old Class 7 student at Sainik School, Niglok, in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang district, after his sister accused senior students of subjecting him to brutal ragging and mental torture that may have driven him to suicide.
The boy was found dead inside the school premises on November 1. His sister, Miss Arunachal 2024, Tadu Lunia, released an emotional video on Wednesday claiming that her brother had been relentlessly harassed by seniors the night before his death.
According to Lunia, several cadets informed the family that on the night of October 31, around eight students from Class 10 and three from Class 8 entered the Class 7 dormitory after 11 p.m. and later took her brother to the senior dormitory. “No one knows what happened behind that closed door,” she said, adding that he was allegedly branded a “thief” over a missing book and threatened with public humiliation during the school assembly.
She also claimed that CCTV footage reviewed by investigators showed her brother walking nervously around the dormitory around 5:45 a.m. before entering a classroom to write what appeared to be his final note. “His last words were, ‘Seniors tortured me a lot, and I don’t know what I will do now,’” Lunia revealed.
Expressing deep anguish, Lunia said her own public profile may have indirectly contributed to her brother’s distress. “I never thought my name could become a burden in the final hours of his life,” she said, while criticizing delays in the post-mortem report and alleging slow progress in the investigation.
Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh Police confirmed that eight students have been detained and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in Pasighat. The board has placed them in the custody of the school’s vice-principal for seven days, with guardians directed to submit undertakings under the Juvenile Justice Rules.
Police further stated that the case, initially registered under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Ruksin Police Station, was reclassified following an additional FIR filed by the victim’s father on November 3, alleging ragging by senior students.
Authorities have assured that the probe is ongoing and will “ensure a fair and logical conclusion” to uncover the full circumstances leading to the tragic death.
