Bengaluru: Class VII Student Hanged While ‘Rehearsing’ Bhagat Singh’s Hanging Scene

A 12-year-old boy from Karnataka lost his life in Beghore while rehearsing the hanging scene of Bhagat Singh. A play was scheduled to take place on Tuesday (November 1) to mark Karnataka’s Rajyotsav. The teenager named Sanjay Gowda was supposed to play the lead role of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in the play. On Saturday, when no one was home, he went alone to rehearse the hanging scene of Bhagat Singh. However, the school authorities claim that no such play was supposed to take place in the school, nor was Sanjay given the role of Bhagat Singh.

Police said Sanjay Gowda was a class VII student of SLV School in Bengaluru. His home is in Chitradurga district. Sanjay was alone when his parents were not at home when the play was being rehearsed on Saturday night. While attempting to stage the execution of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, he accidentally died.

Badavane police station sub-inspector KR Geetamma said her parents ran a tea shop. They closed the shop around 9 pm on Saturday and returned home. Finding the house locked from the inside, they and their neighbors kept knocking on the door. Neighbors saw Sanjay hanging from the ceiling fan through the window after receiving no response. After breaking the door, Sanjay’s body was recovered and his parents rushed him to a nearby hospital. But, he could not be saved.

Sanjay’s father Nagraj alleged that Sanjay was supposed to play the lead role of Bhagat Singh in a play for the school’s cultural program on Tuesday to mark Rajyotsav celebrations. He was rehearsing this play for the past few days. While rehearsing the hanging scene on Saturday evening, he had a noose around his neck. However, he said that his son’s death was completely “accidental”. He did not blame anyone for this incident.

Nagaraj said, “Apart from studies, my son also took an active role in extra-curricular activities. The school authorities asked him to play the role of Bhagat Singh. Sanjay himself arranged for clothes and other essentials. My wife and I run a tea shop near the DC office. He used to come there every day. But he didn’t on Saturday. Returning home around 8 pm, I found her hanging from the ceiling fan and standing on the bed. We rushed him to the district hospital. After some treatment there, he has been declared brought dead.”

However, the headmaster of SLV High School, where Sanjay was a student, made it clear that none of the students were asked to play the role of Bhagat Singh. Eager students were supposed to participate in a fancy-dress competition on the occasion of Karnataka Rajyotsava. Famous personalities who have contributed to the development of Kannada culture and tradition were asked to play the roles. He said, “Sanjay Gowda was a brilliant student. He stood first in studies and extra-curricular activities. His death cast a shadow of mourning on the entire school. The Rajyotsava Divas program we planned was related to Kannada culture. Bhagat Singh was not part of the theme. Sanjay probably chose the role of Bhagat Singh on his own.”