KOCHI: Kerala's Minister for General Education, V Sivankutty, has instructed the Director of Public Education to conduct a thorough investigation into the mother's complaint alleging that her son died by suicide following brutal torture and ragging by a group of students at school.
"I noticed the mother's complaint, and the incident is shocking. Police will take immediate legal action in this regard. The Director of Public Education has been directed to conduct a thorough inquiry into the incident and suggest action to be taken," said the minister in an official statement.
"Every school in the state obtains a no-objection certificate from the state government to function. The state will also take action to prevent any antisocial activities at school and find out the culprits in such cases. If necessary, we will consider amending the laws to prevent such incidents," he added.
Meanwhile, the Ernakulam District Child Welfare Committee has called for an inquiry into the cause of the student's suicide. Vice Chairman K. S. Arunkumar stated, “Whatever was mentioned in the complaint by the mother is serious. Even though the school authorities are denying it, an investigation should be conducted into this matter to bring out the truth. Action will be taken to ensure justice for the family.”
However, in an official statement by the GPS International School, which runs the Global Public School, said the school would not be able to take action against any student based on presumptions and denied the allegations.
"Parents, teachers, and students who were mentioned in these posts were called in to provide clarity and assess involvement. They denied any involvement. The school cannot act on the basis of presumptions and social media posts unless we receive evidence of any specific incident or act," said the official statement.
It added that the school has provided police officials with social media posts and offered access to the CCTV visuals.