MADIKERI:A ninth-grade student of Sainik School, Kudige, was reportedly found dead on the school premises on Saturday. Now, the death of the student — N P Chingappa — is being investigated as a murder case following protests from his family and members of Kodava Samaj.
Chingappa was reportedly found dead in the washroom of the school on Saturday evening. The school claimed he was found unconscious and shifted him to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. He is the son of Naganda T Poovaiah, a hockey coach at the school.
A case has been filed against the school’s vice-principal and four other employees following protests from Chingappa’s family. The protest was held when the body was brought to the mortuary in Madikeri on Sunday.
MLC Sunil Subramani intervened calling MP Pratap Simha over the phone and he, in turn, connected with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The developments led SP Rajendra Prasad to file a murder case under Section 302 against five school employees including its vice-president.
“Preliminary probe is on,” said Kyathegowda, Kushalnagar inspector. Poovaiah’s complaint points at five school employees, including its vice-principal. The school told the police the boy might have taken poisonous solution used for lab purposes, which was found in the washroom alongside the boy.
“On Saturday, a teacher called me at 6 pm informing that my son was missing since 2 pm. I started looking for him... but I was informed at 7.45 pm that he was dead and that the body was found in the washroom. My son had complained about the torture by the computer teacher, Kannada teacher, administrative officer and the warden. I complained to the vice-principal, who ignored it,” read the complaint filed by Poovaiah.
In a press release, the Sainik School authorities said, “Cadet Chingappa N P was declared brought dead by the PHC, Kudige, on June 23 at 8 pm. Earlier in the day, the cadet was counselled by the teacher for an act of indiscipline. In the evening, he was found unconscious in the washroom and taken to the hospital. The school is rendering all support to the police.”