COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore City Police detained two Class 11 students of a government-aided school in the city on Friday for allegedly discriminating against a classmate belonging to an SC community, who subsequently died by suicide. The headmaster and the deceased student’s class teacher, who were also booked in the case, were suspended following a departmental inquiry.
Meanwhile, the mother of the deceased, A Akilan, along with several outfits, staged a demonstration at the district collectorate from Friday morning, demanding justice.
Akilan, a student of government-aided Shri K Krishnaswamy Naidu Memorial Higher Secondary School in Peelamedu, died by suicide on October 21 after he was harassed by his classmates and a teacher over his caste and eating habits, sources said.
Based on a complaint lodged by his mother A Kowsalyadevi, the Peelamedu police booked two fellow students, teacher P Vijayakumar and headmaster S Arun Kumar under sections of the BNS and the SC/ST (PoA) Act on Wednesday.
Sources privy to the investigation, however, said there were several contradictions between the complaint and the statements recorded from the fellow students and teachers.
“It was alleged in the complaint that the class teacher had asked Akilan whether he ate beef during the process of scholarship registration for SC students, which caused him mental distress. However, the inquiry conducted by the district educational officer revealed that the scholarship process was handled entirely by another teacher belonging to an SC community, and the teacher had no role in it. Also, the student’s mother attended a parent-teacher meeting at the school on October 8 and had not complained of the matter to anyone,” said a school education department official.
The official also said that the inquiry team, comprising police personnel, school education department officials and Child Welfare Committee members, recorded statements from the complainant and others, including fellow students and teachers, which were completely different. “While the deceased’s mother alleged caste discrimination, others said he was under mental distress over family disputes. We can confirm whether it was caste discrimination or not only after a detailed investigation,” said a senior police official.
(Assistance to overcome suicidal thoughts is available on state health helpline 104.)