Teen arrested for abetting suicide of minor at Maha orphanage

A teenager working at an orphanage in Maharashtra's Thane district has been arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of a minor inmate, police said today.

Sub-Inspector Bharat Sonawane of the Uttan coastal police in Bhayander in the district said that a 13-year-old inmate of an orphanage here had hung himself on August 19.

A suicide note purportedly written by the deceased alleged that Rahul Shinde, a 19-year-old helper at the ashram, was harassing and assaulting him repeatedly, the official said.

The note held that Shinde, a Nashik resident who had joined the orphanage ten days before the incident, was to be blamed for the deceased taking the extreme step, he said.

Shinde was subsequently arrested under section 305 (abetment of suicide of child) of the Indian Penal Code and further investigations were underway, Sonawane said.