The girl's mother says they wanted to save up money for her marriage
A 17-year-old girl in Jharkhand has allegedly committed suicide after her parents turned down her repeated request to build a toilet at their home, saying they were saving the money for her wedding.
The girl, a Class 12 student in the Jharkhand's Dumka District, had repeatedly asked her parents for the toilt as she was ashamed of defecating in the open fields. Having been turned down, she allegedly committed suicide when her parents were not at home.
"My daughter told me that I go have to travel so far for a toilet in this heat, so construct a toilet first," said her mother.
"For many days, she was asking for a toilet in their house. The mother told her that they are poor and the first priority is her marriage. After this everybody went back to their normal routine and this incident happened," said Vipul Shukla, Superintendent of Police, Dumka.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh tweeted this morning, "A girl in Jharkhand committed suicide as her parents refused to build toilet ! India as a Nation must wake up and build toilets on priority. (sic)"