CHENNAI: A 49-year-old part-time teacher, who was among those protesting for regularisation of jobs, has died by suicide, police sources said. S Kannan of Perambalur was among thousands of part-time teachers who have been staging protest at the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) campus since January 8.
Police said Kannan was part of a group detained on Tuesday and housed at a wedding hall in Vanagaram. According to sources, Kannan complained of discomfort and began vomiting after lunch on Tuesday afternoon, following which he was taken to a government hospital. He died on Wednesday.
Kannan had been working as a part-time physical education teacher at En Pudur Panchayat Union Middle School in Veppanthattai Union of Perambalur for over 15 years.
Sources said Kannan was under stress, particularly over his son’s education expenses, and had pinned hopes on the government’s promise to regularise part-time teachers, and he may have taken the extreme step due to this.
Police said the body has been sent for postmortem and will be handed over to the family on Thursday. A case has been registered. In a statement, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami alleged that the DMK government has failed to honour its promise to part-time teachers and demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for Kannan’s family.
(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)