School clueless about bully who drove Raunak to suicide

 Baldwin Boys’ High School has not been able to zero in on the boy who possibly bullied a 14-year-old student, driving him to suicide on June 29.

Raunak Banerjee, a class 9 student at the school, jumped to death from the 10th floor of an apartment complex in JP Nagar after his classmates bullied him on his performance during a practice session for the mock United Nations.

The incident has embarrassed the 136-year-old school which scrambled to explain what went wrong. The school held a parent-teacher meeting on Monday but there were few leads on the student who bullied Banerjee.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, school principal, Dinakar Wilson, said the meeting was called to facilitate an interaction with parents and students who travelled with Banerjee on June 29 just before the incident took place.

“There were 16 boys and five girls from Baldwins Girls’ School in the school bus with Banerjee. Except two students, all others came with their parents,” he said.

At the meeting, the students are said to have told the principal that Banerjee was very quiet and did not talk to anyone on his way back home that day. “I was told that he was only looking out of the window throughout and did not talk to anyone.”

The principal lamented that the boy didn’t approach the professional counsellor at the school. “In the 136-year history of this school, this is the first incident of its kind. The child could have approached me as well. Students walk up to me with petty issues and I am right there. The incident has saddened all of us,” he said and described Banerjee as an above-average student and a well-behaved boy.

In the morning, students and staff held a condolence meet and lit candles in memory of Banerjee. In an official statement, the principal said, “We are concerned as a school and we will ensure that we assist the police and the parents in whichever way possible.”

Police suspect minor boy

Police suspect that Raunak Banerjee was bullied by a classmate and had even named him. “This boy is also a minor and the case is sensitive. Any act or pressure may force the boy to take a drastic action. We are collecting more information about the incident,” Dr Sharanappa S D, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), said.

Police said they were investigating the case from all angles as minor boys were involved. They may not be able to arrest the suspects even if they are found involved, given the legal limitation.