A 22-year-old student in Nandyal district, Andhra Pradesh, took her own life after being falsely accused by her father of having an inappropriate relationship with a male classmate.
Renuka was a second-year ECE student at Newton’s Engineering College in Macherla. She lived in the college hostel located above the Andhra Bank. One day, a fellow student tried to contact her by phone, but Renuka, who was busy, did not answer the call. Concerned, the student then called Renuka’s father to check on her.
Renuka’s father became enraged and immediately called her. He harshly scolded her, questioning her character and asking why a male student would call her. He even threatened to visit the college to address the matter. Despite Renuka’s desperate pleas of innocence, her father refused to listen.
Terrified by her father’s reaction and the prospect of his arrival at the college, Renuka felt her only escape was to take her own life. She left a suicide note expressing her innocence and the unbearable pain of her father’s distrust. “I haven’t done anything wrong, Dad. You are my strength… if you don’t believe me, then who will?” she wrote. She also clarified that the male student in question saw her as a mother figure.
Renuka’s body was found in an empty room at the hostel. She had hanged herself from a ceiling fan using her shawl. Her parents were left devastated by the tragedy.
