AHMEDABAD: A 39-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 17-year-old Class XII student after repeatedly telling her to die if she truly loved the woman’s teenage son, police said.The teenager died by suicide at her Sarkhej residence on August 31, hours after she was allegedly confronted by Neha Gohil over her relationship with Gohil’s son.According to the complaint, Gohil and her son went to the girl’s home around noon on August 31 while her parents were away at work. The girl and Gohil’s son were classmates at a school in Satellite.Their families had learnt about their interaction on social media around six months earlier and had counselled the teenagers to focus on their studies, the complaint said.On August 29, the two students were allegedly found sitting together on the school premises, following which the principal contacted the girl’s parents. Two days later, Gohil and her son allegedly went to the teenager’s residence.The girl’s family later reviewed CCTV footage from their housing society along with the society chairman. The footage, which also records audio, allegedly captured a confrontation between Gohil and the girl that lasted around 30 minutes.The complainant alleged that Gohil repeatedly told the teenager to die if she truly loved her son. She also allegedly spoke about the impact of the relationship on the family’s reputation and threatened to return later in the evening to confront the girl’s family.Later that day, the girl’s younger brother returned home after being sent to buy milk and found her hanging from a ceiling fan with a plastic rope, according to the complaint. Neighbours were alerted immediately.The family approached police after the postmortem and funeral proceedings and alleged that the confrontation had subjected the teenager to severe mental trauma and fear of social humiliation.Sarkhej police registered a case under Section 107 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with abetment of suicide of a child. Gohil was arrested on September 13 based on the complaint and CCTV footage, police said.
