Gurgaon girl self-immolates after failing exams: Did college insensitivity kill Pinky?

Kasan/Manesar (Gurgaon): Tragic, yes. Twenty-two years is no age to die. And low marks in exams should definitely not be one of the reasons for it. Gurgaon college girl Pinky Chouhan’s death is much more than low marks. It is about institutionalised insensitivity. Distraught after securing ‘zero’ marks in both Mathematics and Physics, the girl with an excellent academic record, set herself afire on the premises of her college on 30 September. Her extreme action made the authorities wake up and take notice. A drastic revision of marks followed. But by then it was too late. Pinky succumbed to her injuries at Delhi’s Safdarjang Hospital 13 days later. [caption id=“attachment_1755959” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Her parents, Veerpal Singh Chouhan and Rajrani Chouhan, cannot accept that their only daughter, who always made them proud with her academic performance, is no more. They refuse to accept that she committed suicide. She was fighting against the “criminal negligence” of her college as well as university authorities to ensure justice for 324 girls, all of whom were protesting against faulty marks, they maintain. The result of the examinations were declared last week. Of the 356 girls who appeared for the exams, 324 secured zero in either one or two subjects. The poor evaluation led the students allege that they had been targeted “intentionally”. Pinky, the second-year student of the Government Women’s College in Sector 14, Gurgaon, secured zero in two papers — Mathematics (her honours paper) and Physics — in the fourth semester exams. The students protested and were seeking re-evaluation of their papers when the incident took place. After Pinky’s self-immolation attempt, Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), with which the college is affiliated, updated the results with all the students passing with good marks. “My daughter cannot commit suicide as she was brave and was fighting for others. She is still alive, please bring her back,” urged the inconsolable mother. She had spent a sleepless night with her daughter’s body before its cremation. Narrating the whole incident, Pinki’s cousin Arun Chouhan, told Firstpost: “After over 1,000 girls staged a protest outside the college campus on Saturday, a 12-member delegation of students, which included Pinky, was formed. Police assured the students’ delegation that the college authorities will organise a meeting with the MDU’s vice chancellor and controller of examination to discuss the issue. But the assurance was not given in writing. When the students gathered outside the college once again to hold a protest on Sunday, they were called inside the college premises and held captive in a classroom.” One of the students, who was part of the delegation, called Pinky and told her about the series of developments, Arun added. “Pinky reached the spot and urged authorities to release the girls, but they refused. She threatened them with self-immolation but rather than taking it seriously, a few lecturers taunted her and told her to go ahead.” Pinky’s college mate, who was present during the horrifying incident, told Arun how the events unfolded. There was absolutely no attempt from the college authorities to stop the 22-year-old when she poured petrol on her body and set herself on fire, he claimed. No one from the college was available for a comment despite repeated efforts by Firstpost. The devastated father does not need any compensation. “We need justice. The murderers of my daughter should be brought to book,” he said. Villagers threaten poll boycott Meanwhile, enraged over the incident, the residents of Kasan and its neighbouring villages, have decided to boycott assembly elections scheduled to be held on Wednesday. “We give the government as well as the district administration an ultimatum of 24 hours to meet our demands. We want the culprits to be immediately arrested, sack the college principal and the incident should be enquired by a retired judge of the Supreme Court or High Court,” said Gopal Singh Chouhan, sarpanch of the village, while addressing a mahapanchayat of four neighbouring villages – Kasan, Baskosla, Basaria and Dhana – on Monday. Captain Veer Singh, another member of the panchayat, said, “We will not allow any poll official to enter our villages. The administration has to listen to us. We won’t let our daughter’s sacrifice go waste.” “Our sister sacrificed her life fighting for the rights of fellow students. If we claim that she was our sister or daughter, it is our moral responsibility to ensure she gets justice. We will give the government sleepless nights until all culprits are brought to book. We will stage hunger strike outside the college from 21 October," said Dinesh, a resident of Kasan. Officials busy in poll preparations, no action so far Although an FIR has been registered under Sections 511, 306, 342 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the basis of victim’s statement, the police have not named anyone in the FIR. Parents alleged that Pinky had clearly mentioned names of the accused in her statement, but in an attempt to “save the culprits” the police did not name anyone. They also raised question on transfer of Principal Usha Malik, who has high-profile links and is considered close to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. “How can she be transferred by the state government when Code of Conduct is in place in the state,” asked Pinky’s uncle. Speaking to Firstpost, Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi said, “The probe is going on and strict action will be taken against those who are found to be involved in the incident. The additional deputy commissioner (ADC) is holding an enquiry and he will soon file a report.” When asked about the transfer of the principal and not naming any accused in the FIR, he said, “I cannot make any comment at this juncture. Investigations are on. We will expedite it once the elections are over.” ADC Pushpendra Chauhan, who was present during Pinky’s funeral on Sunday, said those found guilty will be punished. “I will submit the inquiry report once elections are over. We are doing our job fearlessly and I assure you that no accused will be spared,” he added. Attempts to reach Usha Malik was useless too as she did not respond to any calls from Firstpost. Sorry state of affairs at university One of the lecturers of the college told this correspondent that the “the MDU’s evaluation system is plagued with deep rooted corruption”. “Internal assessment carries 70 marks and 30 is for theory. We send the internal assessment marks to the university for them to update online marksheet along with the theory marks. But the tabulator sometimes deliberately keys in incorrect marks so that students approach him and he can make money in return. The university fee for re-evaluation is Rs 1,000 per paper. It might be an effort on the university’s part to earn that extra money,” she revealed on condition of anonymity. When asked about Pinky, the lecturer said she was an intelligent student. “She had good a academic performance so far. She had secured 94% and 84% marks in 10th and 12th exams. She performed exceptionally well in three semesters,” she added. “A student gets zero in original result and after re-evaluation, the same person gets more than 60% marks. It shows that there is something seriously wrong in the whole process,” she said.