Depressed over father's death, college girl commits suicide

Mangalore, September 15: While a 12 year old allegedly committed suicide by hanging in Bangalore for being reprimanded by her father for poor academic performance, a fatherless student chose the same mode of suicide for a different reason altogether - blaming her fate for not having a doting and reprimanding father.

Rachana Jain, the first year BCom student of SDM College, Ujire took the extreme step on Monday night, pining for her father, Jagatpal Shetty, who passed away a decade back due to ill health.

In her suicide letter, Rachana wrote in Kannada with English script: Sorry nanna friends' kastha and maneyavara kastha, mane hathrdavara kastha nodi nanninda yenu maaodoke agtha illa antha bejaru. Iste. Berenu over aagi think maadbedi. Yelrigu yenadru ondu reason iruthe. But nange without reason. Pl keep smiling. I hate me.'' And the note ended with sad smiley. (I cannot bear to see the difficulties of my family and neighbours. Don't think anything more. Everybody (probably to commit suicide) may have a reason, but I have none.) Belthangady Sub Inspector Yogish Kumar has her diary and is studying it.

Rajat Kumar, elder to her by six years is shattered. A computer instructor in an institute, is in disbelief that he little sister who used to be so lively with them could do this. She was well provided. Our life was simple. We used to notice that when her other friends told her about their father reprimanding or doting she used to feel a lot. But she did not express it with me, but she used to do with my mother (Suhasini). Sometimes she used to cry alone,'' said Rajat to TOI, who lost his father in 2000.

May be my father, who was very loving, left a lasting impression on the eight year old girl, which could not be erased and she lived in her own world with her father. But outwardly it was not evident. She was an average student who wanted to do her MBA and she valued friendship,'' he said.

On Monday, she invited friends for lunch and night as usual she slept late at midnight, after he studies, never to wake up again.

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RuTAGe smart village centres in DK, Udupi to being technology closer to rural communities

News Network

January 20,2026

Mangaluru: In a major step towards strengthening rural innovation, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India is supporting the establishment of RuTAGe Smart Village Centres (RSVCs) across the country through collaborations with academic institutions, civil society organisations and philanthropic partners.

As part of this national initiative, Nitte (Deemed to be University) will set up the first RSVCs in the region at Nitte GP in Udupi district and at the Nitte Health Centre, Sevanjali Trust, Farangipete, in Dakshina Kannada district. The centres will be inaugurated on January 21. In South India, the programme is being implemented by the Section Infin-8 Foundation (SI-8).

Speaking to reporters on Monday, SI-8 founder-director Vishwas US said experts from Nitte University and SI-8 would work closely with farmers, students, youth and local entrepreneurs to adapt and deploy technologies tailored to local needs.

Project head Prof Iddya Karunasagar, representing Nitte DU, said the RSVCs at Nitte and Farangipete would serve as demonstration hubs for a wide range of agriculture, energy, skill-development and assistive technologies. These include solar dryers for fruits, vegetables and crops; soil-testing solutions; power weeders and women-friendly farm tools; wind-powered devices for rural artisans; grain storage systems; grass-cutting and tree-climbing equipment; and liquid fertiliser production using cowshed waste.

SI-8 CEO Aravind C Kumar said the centres would also provide access to digital and knowledge-based platforms such as ISRO applications, government scheme portals, market linkage tools and gamified learning resources, along with assistive technologies for persons with visual impairments.

Highlighting the broader impact of the initiative, Principal Scientific Adviser Prof Ajay Kumar Sood said it demonstrated how applied research could bridge the rural–urban divide and help create self-reliant, technology-enabled villages.

The initiative has been made possible through philanthropic support from Dr NC Murthy of ACM Business Solutions, LLC, USA. Dr Sapna Poti, Director (Strategic Alliances) at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, said the long-term objective is to build self-sufficient, technology-driven communities capable of generating sustainable livelihoods on their own.

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