COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore City Police have formed five special teams to conduct a detailed investigation into the suicide of A Akilan, a Class XI student who allegedly faced caste-based harassment at his school.
The police also appealed to the public not to circulate rumours or speculative information about the case, even as the deceased student's family and various organisations continued their protest on Saturday, demanding the arrest of the teachers booked in the case and a fair investigation.
Akilan, a student of Shri K Krishnaswamy Naidu Memorial Higher Secondary School, a government-aided institution in Peelamedu, died by suicide on Wednesday (October 21). His mother, A Kowsalyadevi, alleged that he had been harassed by two classmates and a teacher over his caste and eating habits.
Based on her complaint, Peelamedu police registered a case against the two students, class teacher P Vijayakumar and headmaster S Arun Kumar under Sections 115(2) and 108 of BNS Act and Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Police detained the two students on Friday and lodged them at the Juvenile Home in Coimbatore. Meanwhile, the school management temporarily suspended the headmaster and class teacher pending the completion of a departmental inquiry.
According to the complaint, Akilan had allegedly faced harassment from two classmates after identifying himself as a Scheduled Caste student during a scholarship enrolment process. The complaint further alleged that the class teacher and headmaster failed to act despite the student's complaints.
The police in their release said, they have inquired about the alleged caste discrimination with 30 people including fellow students of the deceased, teachers, staffs and other witnesses. A separate investigation report from the school education department officials and Child Welfare Committee members has also been submitted. Special teams have been collecting scientific evidence, including CCTV footage related to the case. Police said the circumstances surrounding the death could be established only after a detailed investigation and the postmortem report.
Meanwhile, Akilan's mother and representatives of several organisations continued their demonstration in front of the South Tasildar office on Saturday, demanding the arrest of the teachers and an impartial probe. The family has refused to accept the body until its demands are met, delaying the postmortem examination.