Called ‘transgender’ Uttar Pradesh teen ends life

A 16-year-old boy was found hanging in his house in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. His suicide note said he was ending his life because he was body-shamed by his classmates who ridiculed his feminine looks and called him a transgender.

"Papa, I'm sorry as I could not be a good son. I cannot earn like you. I have girl-like features and even my face is like them. People laugh at me. Even I have started feeling that I am a 'kinnar' (transgender). My life will darken your life and that is the reason why my death is necessary. Please bless me that I take birth as a girl. If a girl is born in our family, then you must believe that I have returned," he wrote in the suicide note.

The incident occurred in Subhash Nagar area on Monday night. Police recovered the suicide note lying on his bed, which was addressed to his father.

The victim's younger brother told the police, "A day before ending his life, my brother had said when an actor like Sushant Singh Rajput could commit suicide, then he too could do it too." Apparently, the news of the actor's suicide served as an immediate trigger for the Class 10 student.

His mother passed away four years ago and the father, who runs a mobile store in Uttarakhand's Champawat, has been living with the children in Bareilly since the lockdown was imposed.

The boy, second among two brothers and one sister, committed suicide when his father had gone to the market while his younger brother, 13, a student of class 8, was studying in another room. His elder sister is married.

The victim's father told reporters, "My son was normal, but a few people, including my relatives, misunderstood him and used to pass absurd comments at him. My son was very close to his younger brother and would take good care of him. He used to cook food in my absence. Sometimes, he would apply makeup and dance like a woman which is not abnormal for someone his age."

Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Ravindra Kumar said: "The autopsy report has confirmed that the boy committed suicide. We have also recovered a suicide note. The family does not want legal action against anyone."

Subhash Nagar SHO Harishchandra Joshi said that the body was handed over to the family after autopsy.