Kannur: School topper commits suicide after media highlights family's poverty

Rafseena, who hails from Maloor in Kannur, scored 1,180 marks out of 1,200 in her Plus Two exam She lived in a single-room house, with her mother Rahmath, a daily wage labourer, and two siblings Local media had portrayed Rafseena's marks as her fight against poverty and harsh living conditions The suicide led to heated discussions about the media's invasion of privacy, especially on children

A 17-year-old student from Kannur, who secured high marks in her Plus Two examinations, committed suicide after the media highlighted her family's poor financial situation. 

Rafseena, of Sivapuram Higher Secondary School, scored an impressive 1,180 marks out of 1,200 in her exam, in the results published last week. She secured 96 per cent marks in Plus One and full marks in Plus Two. However, the teenager was found hanging in her house at Lakshamveedu Colony in Maloor two days days later.

The police said that in her suicide note Rafseena revealed she was shattered after finding out that instead of celebrating her achievement, media reports chose to focus on her family's financial struggles, which she had hidden from friends and classmates till then.

Local media had portrayed Rafseena's marks as her victory in the fight against poverty and harsh living conditions. She lived in a single-room house along with her mother Rahmath, a daily wage labourer, and two siblings. Her elder sister Manseens is a BPharm student at a college in Thiruvananthapuram, while brother Mahroof works at a shop in Bengaluru.

Though the local police registered a case and started an investigation, nothing much came of it. The suicide led to an uproar on social media, with discussions questioning the media's invasion of privacy, especially on children, and television channels' mad rush after TRPs.