CHENNAI: A day after a Class X student died following a prayer meeting at his school in Perambur, purported CCTV footage from the institution showed latecomers being made to go for a ‘duck walk’ in the playground. This, M Narendran’s parents suspected, could have been the reason for his death. Following the incident, the police arrested Arul Lourdusamy, headmaster of Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, Perambur, and physical trainer Jay Singh on Thursday.
The footage showed some children, believed to be from Class VIII, running around the playground and others along with Narendran doing ‘duck walk’ in the hot sun.
Following the death of M Narendran, a Class X student, after a prayer meeting at his school in Perambur on Wednesday, police have said there were no external injury marks on the boy’s person.
Narendran, a resident of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, had reportedly come late to school. His parents had alleged that the boy was asked to go for a ‘duck walk’ as punishment for latecoming and he died because of this.
However, the school authorities denied the allegations.
“On Wednesday, Narendran had reached school 45 minutes late. For this, he was made to go for a ‘duck walk’ along with the other latecomers,” his father had told the police.“After this, the boy is believed to have collapsed during the prayer and the staff who noticed it, immediately rushed him to a private hospital nearby from where he was referred to the Stanley Government Hospital. He was declared brought dead there,” said a police officer.
As the news of his death spread, the victim’s kin and parents of other students staged a protest demanding action against the headmaster and the physical education trainer. Police registered a case under IPC section 304 (a) (Causing death by negligence) and arrested the duo.