TIRUCHY: A day after the death of a Class 12 boy in the campus hostel, Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Friday made a surprise visit to the government model school in Thuvakudi. Interacting with school staff and students on the student’s suicide, the minister directed the authorities to organise motivational sessions and confidence-building activities for students and parents, sources said.
Student B Yuvaraj (17) of Vellore was found dead in his hostel room early on Thursday. According to the school authorities, he had locked the room from inside and ended his life. The police sent the body for post-mortem and registered a case. The boy’s family and fellow students, however, raised doubts over Yuvaraj’s death, saying the student was cheerful and showed no suicidal tendencies. Yuvaraj’s family members also staged a sit-in on school campus, blaming the administration for his death.
While the police and education officials maintain Yuvaraj’s death as suicide, the earlier death of a Class 12 girl on June 11 in the same school hostel under similar circumstances has intensified public suspicion and concern.
Political leaders, including PMK’s Anbumani Ramadoss, AMMK’s TTV Dhinakaran and BJP leader Annamalai, have demanded a high-level inquiry. They alleged discrepancies in the school’s version, particularly over room safety features that were purportedly modified after the Class 12 girl’s death.
(Assistance to overcome suicidal thoughts is available on state health department helpline 104 and on Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline at 044-24640050.)