A 49-year-old part-time teacher, S Kannan of Perambalur, who was part of ongoing protests in Chennai seeking regularisation of service, died on Wednesday after an alleged suicide bid.
He was taken to Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed without responding to treatment.
Thousands of part-time teachers have been protesting at the DPI campus since January 8, demanding regularisation. Kannan was part of a group protesting there on Tuesday before being detained at a wedding hall in Vanagaram.
In the afternoon, after having lunch, Kannan began vomiting. It is believed that he harmed himself in a bid to end his life. He was rushed to a hospital where he was admitted for treatment but died on Wednesday morning.
Sources said that Kannan had been a part-time physical education teacher at En Pudur Panchayat Union Middle School in Veppanthattai Union of Perambalur district for more than 15 years. He is survived by his wife, who is a computer teacher at a private school, and his son who is in Class XII.
Kannan was distressed about expenses for his son's education once he started high school. He was hopeful that the DMK government would make teachers like him full-time teachers as promised in the party's election manifesto. But with elections around the corner and the promise remaining unfulfilled, Kannan must have taken the drastic step, a source said.
The police said Kannan's body was sent for a postmortem and will be handed over to his family on Thursday. A case has been registered and a probe is underway to ascertain the reason for Kannan's extreme decision.
Several political parties, including the AIADMK and the BJP, on Wednesday condemned the DMK government for failing to fulfil its promise to part-time teachers. In a statement, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami termed the DMK administration a "failure model government" and alleged that Chief Minister MK Stalin was "vibing to poetry" without showing any concern over the deaths of teachers. He demanded compensation of Rs 50 lakh for the family of the deceased teacher.
Meanwhile, BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran questioned why the government was now taking up the Ungal Kanava Sollungal (Tell Us Your Dreams) scheme while ignoring what he termed the "lifetime dream" of teachers such as S Kannan. He described the death as a black mark on the DMK government.
Leaders of the TVK, including KG Arunraj and Aadhav Arjuna, also condemned the state government over the issue.
(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on TN's health helpline 104 and Sneha's suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)