U1- BEHIND THE STORY

16-YEAR-OLD QUEER STUDENT SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY PEERS AND MENTALLY HARRASED BY

SCHOOL HEADMISTRESS

Vrinda Bhutani

Delia School of Can

 16-YEAR-OLD QUEER STUDENT SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY PEERS AND MENTALLY
HARRASED BY SCHOOL HEADMISTRESS

Introduction

In Dps school Faridabad, Haryana, India a young student was sexually and mentally harassed by his

classmates, but that was just a part of his long struggle of life. On February 24 th,2022, we lost Arvey

Malhotra a victim of sexual assault took his life. This is one of the many cases come out regarding

bullying from that part of India. This strong teenager faced numerous battles in life, but it was too

much when his headmistress mentally assaulted him and called him out for being ‘different’. ‘I am

not as strong as you mamma, I tried’ he claimed in his suicide note. At the night of the tragic incident

Arvey Malhotra’s mother was at her father’s house. She received a call from her neighbours that

something terrible had happened to her son. She was terrified. By the time she reached back home

he had passed. Later she revealed that Arvey had numerous times before, attempted suicide but he

had never gone through with it. She had gotten him medical help and was very supportive in

everything he chose to do or chose to be.

The school counsellor refused to meet with him. She always claimed she was

‘too busy’ to meet with him. Arvey was a creative ambitious student with a dream and a drive to

make it come true. He had a small nail art business, but society could not accept a ‘boy’ willingly

wearing nail paint. He was often harassed in school for being too ‘feminine’. Other students played

cruel pranks on him; the whole experience was extremely traumatizing for the teenager. However,

challenging it was for him to face his bullies; he started standing up for himself and begin to explore

his sexuality. At this time, the students crossed a line and sexually assaulted him. He told his mother

about the incident, and she immediately reported to the authorities.

 The school did not take any action on the incident and did not suspend

the students who were responsible for traumatizing Arvey. The victim’s family was told that they had

left school. It was school's responsibility to let the schools they are joining next know about their

past but those students enjoyed a new life with a clean slate. Even though Arti Malhotra, Arvey’s

mother was a teacher in the same school for 10 years, no one showed any support towards them.

He claimed in his suicide note ‘they killed me, Mamata Gupta and the higher authorities’.

The police department arrested Mrs. Mamata Gupta under IPC 306 for abetment to suicide,

however soon her bail was posted over the negligence of the police which caused leakage of

evidence.

Except for the fact that no help was provided to their family, the victim’s mother claims the school is

trying to cover up their mistakes and are tampering with evidence. they've been so smart about

covering this whole thing up. In my complaint to the police, after my son's suicide, I had mentioned

the date and month of the incidents that took place. The March 21 incident where he was sexually

harassed was the major one. Now what the school has done is that in the school's dossier, they have

manipulated the information to show that these kids left the school before that date.’ She says in an

interview.

Discussion

SOCIOLOGIST

In Arvey Malhotra’s case, a Sociologist might ask- Was Arvey targeted due to the beliefs of society of

families without a father? Did the society and the believes of the society the bullies belonged to

affect their decision to harass an innocent classmate? What was the institution teaching the children
which made them feel that being homosexuality is unnatural or gives someone else the right to

make you feel inferior? According to the article, Arvey Malhotra was a gifted child without a father,

did living in a society which did not respect families without a male dominant make him feel inferior.

In paragraph. In para graph 6 of Arvey’s mother claimed "If he had healed, then I would have

fought against the school. We were waiting for a good time’’ is it possible that they might

not have fought back if he got better, because they might have felt that the society was

against them and there was no way they could win?

The citizen- 20th July 2022- "This School Killed Me…"

https://www.thecitizen.in/in-depth/this-school-killed-me-317431?infinitescroll=1

PSYCHOLOGIST

In Arvey Malhotra’s case, a psychologist might ask- Even tough the victim in the story ad a

supporting mother, why did the child decide to take his life What the believes of the bullies made

them think that it was acceptable to harass Arvey? Why are the personality traits Arvey had still

looked down upon in some societies? What behavioural patterns can be seen between students\

children who are victims of bullying and sexual assault? According to the article why did Arvey let

other students define his sexuality? In the article’s 5 th paragraph it says ‘Arvey Malhotra, son of

Aarti Malhotra, jumped off from the top floor of the society in Greater Faridabad’, suicide is

known as the cowards way out but jumping off a height can be scary, a person has to be

really traumatized to make that jump, do you think that the psychologists the victim saw

helped improve his condition?

TIMES OF INDIA- JULY 7TH 2022- “The school has killed me”: Arvey Malhotra’s mother recalls his

suicide note and elaborates on the bullying that led to her son’s death; awaits justice even

after 4 months

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/parenting/moments/the-school-has-killed-me-arvey-

malhotras-mother-recalls-his-suicide-note-and-elaborates-on-the-bullying-that-led-to-her-sons-

death-awaits-justice-even-after-4-months/articleshow/92721354.cms

ANTHOPOLOGIST

In Arvey Malhotra’s case, a psychologist might ask- Does the fact that his culture is not very open

about different societies affect his choice to end his life? Does the fact that the bullies are not taught

what they did being wrong in their culture and household affect their decision to assault Arvey. Is it

possible that the students bulled Arvey based on his sexuality because they were themselves in the

closet and making fun of him helped them prove something to themselves?

CONCLUSION

From the interviews and personal comments of the victim’s family and friends I have gathered, I can

conclude that after a lot of deliberation and a lot of attempts at being happy, Arvey finally gave up

when he was mentally harassed by his teacher. He had already been through a lot, and his mentor

criticizing him for something which was not his fault was something he was unable to bare. In the

article it is said that the victim was bullied for his behaviour and interests ever since he was 11. Even

though, his mother repeatedly explained to him that there was nothing wrong in the way he was.

The society pressure was just too much to handle. His mother claims it was not suicide, it was
murder and the voices of the harassers mentally forcing him to make that jump. Growing up with his

grandparents who had some backward ideas affected him negatively. The school where he studied

did not teach students that it was not wrong to express oneself. It was not the victim’s fault that he

grew up in a small, underdeveloped city. The abusers were at fault and should be punished.

However, there is another angle of looking at their side. The behaviour they displayed was not

discouraged, they were never taught the equality between all the genders. Children learn from

parents, schools, and societies and therefore it their responsibility to not impart incorrect

knowledge. It is the duty of these entities as important agents of socialization.

At every problem life hit Arvey, he stood stronger but after a while it was too painful to exist. The

strongest example he set for the generation to come after him was that no matter what anyone

says, never to stop being oneself. In the 16 years of his life, he never once tried to be something he

was not. His last words conclude the whole incident, he said ‘They killed me’.
 CITATIONS

TIMES OF INDIA- JULY 7TH 2022- “The school has killed me”: Arvey Malhotra’s mother recalls his

suicide note and elaborates on the bullying that led to her son’s death; awaits justice even

after 4 months

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/parenting/moments/the-school-has-killed-me-
arvey-malhotras-mother-recalls-his-suicide-note-and-elaborates-on-the-bullying-that-led-to-her-
sons-death-awaits-justice-even-after-4-months/articleshow/92721354.cms

The citizen- 20th July 2022- "This School Killed Me…"

https://www.thecitizen.in/in-depth/this-school-killed-me-317431?infinitescroll=1

LGBTQ NATION- SATUARDAY, JULY 16, 2022- Mother accuses school of doing nothing to stop

rampant bullying that led to her son’s suicide

shttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/07/mother-accuses-school-nothing-stop-rampant-bullying-
led-sons-suicide/