Silent Suffering Turns Deadly
Following the death of 15-year old Sonam Wangchuk of Kamji School, his father has written a letter to the police seeking for further investigation. On the other hand, the principal is known for rampant corporal punishment in the school.
On the morning of May 19, 15-year old Sonam Wangchuk made a plan with his four friends which were to bring into his life a surprising event.
The plan was to bunk campus and go home to meet their parents without seeking permission from the school authorities.
As soon as the school bell rang at one in the afternoon, Sonam Wangchuk and his friends confidently stepped out of the gate, walked for a short while and hitched a ride and headed home.
By Saturday afternoon, they arrived at Gaikhuri, about 20 kilometers from Kamji.
They were greeted by a happy mother, who despite being excited about seeing her son asked him if he has got permission to come home from school.
Sonam Wangchuk lied to his mother and said he did.
His mother said he was really happy to meet her and his sister and was waiting for his father to arrive.
His father, Wangchuk who is a Taxi driver was glad to see his only son home.
That night, to celebrate Sonam Wangchuk’s home coming, his mother threw a small dinner party at their grocery shop for the family and his four friends.
When his father asked me if he got permission to come home, he lied to his father too.
After dinner, the family closed the shop and went home to call it a night.
At home, Sonam Wangchuk asked his father to fix the guitar tune and announced that he was now the guitar captain in school. Playing the guitar was something that was very close to this 15-year old.
“He was excited about the upcoming musical show at school,” said Wangchuk. “And he asked me to attend it by all means.”
Not only was Sonam Wangchuk excited about playing the guitar on stage but that was going to be a proud moment for his family, mostly his father.
His father had promised to buy him an electric guitar and Sonam Wangchuk was looking forward to showing it off to his friends at the school.
At around 10 at night, the father and son called it a day and went to sleep.
The next morning, Sonam Wangchuk had kissed his sister goodbye before she left for her Taekwondo classes. While he waited for his father to wake up around seven in the morning, his mother was already at the shop.
His father dropped him off to a friend’s place in Ahelay.
Before his father said goodbye to him, his father asked him if he wanted to go to Phuentsholing to get a haircut. He had told his father that he would rather keep it long for a few more weeks.
The father and son made the journey up to Ahelay and completed it with their favorite dzongkhag song playing on the stereo.
Sonam Wangchuk and his friends then got into a Maruti car, which belonged to one of his friend’s father to go back to school.
His mother had packed some dried fruits, noodle and Coca Cola drink for him.
He has asked his mother to send his father to see him next Sunday and of course with packed lunch. His mother’s cooking was the best for him.
Sonam Wangchuk and his friends reached the school around 4:30 in the evening. Not aware that they should be sneaking back into the school, they opted to enter the school campus from the main gate.
Unfortunately, they met the school principal at the gate.
As soon as the students saw the principal, Sonam Wangchuk and one of his friends ran away from the principal, however the principal managed to catch two of his other friends.
After they were all caught, the principal took a photograph of all of them in his mobile phone, something that the principal loves doing.
The principal accused the boys of being on drugs because one of the friends had red eyes. The truth was that the boy was suffering from conjunctivitis but the principal was bent on believing that the boys were on drugs.
The hostel warden was then ordered by the principal to check the boys and their belongings.
No drug or alcohol was found.
The principal singled out Sonam Wangchuk and told him that his parents were going to be called to the school and tell them that this was the second time he bunked school.
On hearing that, Sonam Wangchuk was petrified.
After the principal left, he told his friends that he would rather kill himself than face his parents in such a situation.
At around seven in the evening, while everyone in the hostel went for the evening study, Sonam Wangchuk stayed back in the hostel and said he will be joining them soon.
A student who fell sick and had to rush back to hostel to get some medicine knocked on the hostel door and found it to be latched from inside.
The student managed to get in through a window that was open.
When he got inside the room, the lights were put off and when he switched on the lights he saw something unusual.
There he saw Sonam Wangchuk hanging from the ceiling, his hands in his pocket and his toes touching the ground.
In the beginning the students thought Sonam Wangchuk was joking and that it was just an act put together to play a prank on him.
But as he went near Sonam Wangchuk and talked to him there was no response, he then went from giggles to complete silence. Sonam Wangchuk was dead.
The student, who is also Sonam Wangchuk’s best friend, ran to tell the hostel warden.
When the principal was informed about it, the principal went back into his house and came to the room only after 10 to 15 minutes.
The school informed the police and the doctor.
Around eight at night, Sonam Wangchuk’s parents were resting at the shop, looking back at the two days their son was with them, making plans about what to cook for him the next weekend and the excitement that their son will be playing the guitar on stage still lingered.
Just then, their neighbor entered their shop telling them that the principal of their son’s school was looking for his number.
He immediately called up the principal who broke the news that their son had committed suicide.
Wangchuk and his wife rushed to the school and could not believe it when they saw their son hanging from the ceiling.
Wangchuk started yelling. “My son has been killed.”
The police told him that no one killed his son and that he had committed suicide.
“They (police) did not let me talk,” said Wangchuk. “The officer said why do you have to say things like this.”
The police asked Wangchuk not to get angry and left.
He stood there. Not believing what he had just seen and heard. His only son was gone forever. He started questioning himself? Why did his son deserve this? It all happened for one small reason, a reason to come and see his family.
Today, as he sits at home, writing his petition letter requesting the police to do a further investigation on his son’s death, he looks at everything that reminds him of his son. And sadly hums his son’s favorite Bollywood song.
“All this life I have lived dying. Let me live my life once again.”
Sadly, the person who sings the song in the movie too commits suicide.
Source: The Journalist