A Class 8 student allegedly died by suicide in Gujarat’s Surat city, with her family members claiming that she took the extreme step after being punished by her school over non-payment of fees, police said Wednesday.

The 14-year-old girl hanged herself at her home in the city’s Godadara locality on Monday evening when her parents were away.

The minor had stopped going to school after the Uttarayan festival on January 14, and her parents had not deposited a fee of Rs 15,000 for a year ending March 2025, inspector Harshad Acharya of Godadara police station said.

The girl’s father claimed that the school did not allow his daughter to take her exams over non-payment of fees and made her stand outside her classroom.

The police and district education department have launched a probe to verify the allegations of the girl’s father Raju Khatik that the school drove her to take her life.

“We have taken the statement of the student’s family members, classmates and neighbours as well as the school management. We are probing the case from different angles. At this stage, we cannot say for certain that she died due to the reasons claimed by her father,” he said.

District Education Officer HH Rajyaguru said that his department has also initiated a probe and is trying to ascertain whether the girl died due to the alleged conduct of the school management over non-payment of fees.

“A team has been sent to the school. CCTV footage at the school is being scanned. Action will be taken based on the report submitted after an inquiry,” he added.

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