Fresh CCTV footage has reignited scrutiny over the death of nine-year-old Amaira, who died after jumping from the fourth floor of Neerja Modi School in Jaipur in November last year. The video, released by her parents, captures the events leading up to the incident and is being presented as evidence that the Class 4 student endured repeated bullying by classmates while her repeated attempts to seek help were allegedly ignored by teachers.
The family has also accused the police of failing to act appropriately and has demanded that stricter provisions of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act be applied against the school's principal and chairman, in addition to the class teacher.
CCTV footage from the day of the incident showed Amaira falling nearly 48 feet from the school's fourth-floor railing on November 1. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.
Since the incident, Amaira's parents have maintained that prolonged bullying, coupled with the school's failure to intervene, pushed their daughter to take the extreme step. They have repeatedly sought answers about what happened inside the classroom in the moments before her death.
(Due to the sensitive nature of the case, India Today is not publishing the video shared by the student's family.)
What the latest footage reveals
The newly released CCTV footage, accompanied by a voice-over from Amaira's family, documents the sequence of events inside her classroom before the incident.
The video begins with Amaira entering the classroom as usual, greeting a friend and later taking part in a dance activity with her classmates.
It then shows several children bringing a digital slate into the classroom.
According to the family's narration, a group of students repeatedly showed the slate to Amaira, after which her behaviour appeared to change noticeably. They claim she looked upset, uneasy and embarrassed as classmates continued interacting with her over the device.
The footage later shows Amaira approaching her class teacher, Puneeta Sharma, several times, seemingly trying to explain what had happened.
However, instead of being allowed to speak privately or being separated from the situation, the video shows other students repeatedly approaching the teacher and speaking about Amaira while she attempted to explain herself.
The family's narration states that Amaira's body language suggested growing anxiety. She is seen folding her hands while speaking, later holding her mouth and head in visible distress before once again approaching the teacher.
The family further alleged that the teacher's response appeared stern and intimidating. Shortly afterwards, Amaira is seen running out of the classroom alone.
According to the family, no teacher or staff member immediately followed her or stopped her as she moved through the school and eventually reached the fourth floor, from where she jumped.
Family alleges serious negligence
Amaira's parents say the footage reinforces their claim that the tragedy stemmed from serious negligence, the school's failure to address bullying and inadequate child safety measures.
"I have said this before—we call the police multiple times every day. Even if we raise the smallest concern, they stop answering our calls and refuse to meet us. We are now dealing with our third Investigating Officer (IO). We are completely frustrated, yet the appropriate charges still have not been filed. I continue to believe that Indu Dubey is being protected—and not just by the school, but by everyone," Amaira's mother, Shivani, said.
She also questioned the school's level of supervision on the day of the incident.
"This reflects complete negligence on the part of principal Indu Dubey. She failed to ensure even basic monitoring, including verifying whether CCTV surveillance was functioning properly," she said.
Shivani also questioned how a nine-year-old child could move around the school unnoticed before reaching the fourth floor. She said children usually return home and share their problems with their families, adding that her daughter was never given that opportunity.
"My daughter wasn't even given the chance to come home. Had she returned, this tragedy might have been prevented," she said.
Referring to the newly obtained footage, Shivani alleged that Amaira repeatedly sought help but was ignored.
"She believed that escaping the situation by jumping was better than facing the humiliation and the consequences she felt the teacher was threatening her with," she said.
Amaira's father, Vijay, also alleged that influential individuals were interfering with the investigation but said he would continue fighting for justice.
Police have already named school owner Saurabh Modi, principal Indu Dubey and class teacher Poonita Sharma in the chargesheet under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to alleged criminal negligence.
