PATHANAMTHITTA: A blame game erupted on Tuesday over the suicide of Ranni resident V T Shijo who was allegedly driven to the extreme act by a prolonged delay in disbursing his wife’s salary. As the controversy deepens, the authorities of the aided school where the woman, Lekha Raveendran, works as a teacher and the education department are pointing fingers at each other.
George Joseph, manager of the St Joseph’s High School in Naranamuzhi alleged that the school had repeatedly followed up with the district education office (DEO) to resolve the issue.
“I had accompanied the family to the DEO office several times. Despite submitting all necessary documents long ago, officials deliberately withheld the salary-related files, a red tape typically seen in government offices,” Joseph told TNIE. He said that even after the education minister’s intervention and a clear directive from the High Court, officials remained unresponsive.
“Every time, they cited a lack of proper authentication as an excuse to stall disbursement,” he pointed out. He further alleged that the delay stemmed from bureaucratic apathy within the education department. Requests from even the minister’s office were ignored, despite the family’s close ties to the CPM, Joseph said.
A departmental probe has been launched into the alleged administrative failure that may have contributed to the tragedy.