Bhagalpur teen seeks permission from President to end life; PMO orders probe

NEW DELHI: A 15-year-old boy with roots in Bhagalpur has shot off a letter to the President expressing his distress over strained relations between his parents and seeking “permission” to end his life, officials said on Tuesday.nnThe boy currently resides in Jharkhand where his father is a government official. His mother works at a bank in Patna.nnBhagalpur district administration officials said the matter came to light recently, when they were alerted by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) about the two-month-old letter.nnThe PMO has issued instructions to conduct a thorough investigation and take necessary action, they said.nnThe boy’s letter was apparently sent to the PMO from the President’s office, the officials said.nnThe boy’s father is currently posted in Deoghar in Jharkhand, as a manager in the state rural development department while his mother lives in Patna where she is posted as an assistant manager in a bank, sources said.nnAfter spending his early childhood at the NTPC, Kahalgaon, in Bhagalpur from where his grandfather retired, the boy shifted to Deoghar where he is living with his father and pursuing his studies, they said.nnHis grandfather and paternal uncles squarely blamed his mother for strained relations with her husband, and also alleged both have lodged cases accusing each other of being involved in extra-marital relationships, the sources said.nnIn his letter to the President, the boy is said to have expressed his exasperation over the nasty quarrel between his parents and claimed that it was having an adverse impact on his studies.nnHe has also alleged that his father, who has been suffering from cancer, was being “threatened by anti-social elements” at the behest of his mother, the sources said.nnDisgusted with the situation, the boy wanted to end his life, the officials claimed.nnInvestigations are on in the matter and action will be taken in accordance with law, the sources added.nnSource: Press Trust of India