Amaira Meena was a nine-year-old girl, studying at the Neeraj Modi School as a student of grade four. She was known for her brilliance, and the classmates and teachers spoke of her as the “bright, friendly and cheerful” student who was an All-rounder. So what exactly would have compelled and pushed Amaira to the extent that she wouldn't even hesitate before taking her own life?
Amaira unfortunately passed away on November 1st, 2025, after falling from the fourth floor of the school building.
What pushed Amaira to take her own life?
In the reports by CBSE, it is said that Amaira’s parents mentioned their child being bullied for 18 months continuously. But despite reaching out to the class teacher, Puneeta Sharama, Amaira and her parents were repeatedly dismissed and ignored on this matter. While Amaira was seen at her happiest form, "engaging in positive conversations, dancing and eating chocolate and golgappa, appearing happy and laughing” just before her death hours later.
What really seemed to trigger Amaira's actions was when she was sitting in a classroom at her desk and was shown some form of digital content by a boy. In the CCTV footage released by her parents, Amaira can be seen instantly becoming disturbed and uncomfortable at the moment she was shown that tablet.
She was also spotted asking her classmates to stop or erase what was written on the slate. Amaira also wrote something on the slate and then urged the removal of the content. "The teacher's intervention was very much needed," the CBSE observed.
In the footage, Amaira is seen immediately rushing to the teacher for support, but is unfortunately dismissed upon her arrival and was not offered any consultation or help. "Instead of supporting her, Puneeta ma'am dismissed the problem. Amaira felt uncomfortable and was harassed by a few
classmates, and yet she was presented with no form of support," the report said, adding that she skipped her lunch that day.
The 18 long months she had to bear.
According to her parents, Amaira had been bullied for 18 long months before she succumbed to the bullying. The earliest documented concerns emerged in September, when Amaira's father, Vijay Meena, approached her class teacher after she was allegedly bullied by a male classmate, who was among a group of students accused of writing disturbing messages on a classroom slate. According to the CBSE report, the teacher responded that Amaira "needs to adjust with other kids."
The following month, in October, the same student allegedly misrepresented Amaira's greeting of "hello" as "I love you" in front of other children. The CBSE report states that neither the class teacher nor the class coordinator intervened. The matter was eventually resolved only after Amaira's mother contacted the boy's mother, who made her son apologise.
Amaira's parents say these incidents were not isolated. Her mother, Shivani Meena, alleges that she repeatedly raised concerns with both the class teacher and the class coordinator over the course of a year but felt her complaints were routinely ignored.
"I would speak to the class teacher; I spoke to the class coordinator not once, but several times over the last year, but they would either shrug me off or ignore me," she said.
One Parent-Teacher Meeting further reinforced the family's concerns. Vijay Meena recalled seeing a group of children pointing towards Amaira and another boy, causing his daughter to become visibly uncomfortable and hide behind him. When he raised the issue with her teacher, he says he was told that because it was a co-educational school, Amaira needed to learn to interact with both boys and girls. Vijay maintains that he responded that it should remain his daughter's choice whether she wanted to speak with boys.
The family's concerns extended beyond school meetings. About a year before Amaira's death, Shivani recorded a WhatsApp voice message of her daughter crying and pleading not to be sent to school. In the recording, Amaira can be heard saying, "I don't want to go to school... don't send me." Shivani sent the audio to Amaira's class teacher in the hope that it would prompt intervention.
On 1 November, Amaira died after falling from the fourth floor of the school building. Her parents allege that repeated complaints of bullying, teasing, and verbal abuse with "sexual connotations" had gone unaddressed by school authorities.
Investigators later reviewed classroom CCTV footage, which shows Amaira approaching her teacher twice in the minutes before climbing over a railing and falling. What was said during those interactions remains unknown because the footage contained no audio. The family has questioned why audio was unavailable, arguing that CBSE guidelines require classroom surveillance systems to record sound.
The School and teachers' refusal to Amaira's cry for help
The CBSE found that Amaira had raised concerns with her class teacher about a classmate using bad words towards her. According to the report, the accused student denied the allegation. However, investigators noted that other students had also complained about similar behaviour, indicating a broader pattern of misconduct.
It is also said that the place where Amaira fell and passed away was washed off by the school authorities in some sort of attempt to reduce chances of any allegations towards the school.
The committee concluded that the school had failed miserably at benign ankle to maintain a safe space for Amaira or other students at the school; they had failed to implement much-needed measures of safety in this matter and had abruptly ignored the matter.
According to the report, the class teacher and the school management were aware of the harassment and emotional distress Amaira was experiencing, yet the concerns were not addressed effectively.
Now, Amaira's family and her parents are indulging in legal actions and reportedly have been talking about this incident and pressing for punishment for the school.
Unfortunately, Amaira’s death had to be the subject of opening up about the school's misconduct and mistreatment. If only this matter had progressed in a better way, maybe Amaira Meena, the cheerful and happy girl, would still be alive.
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