KARWAR : The Uttara Kannada police registered a murder case against a school teacher, who is also the in-charge hostel warden of a residential school in Siddapur taluk, in connection with the death of a tenth standard student, Gokul Krishna Gouda.
After the student's mother, Jayashri Krishna Gouda, filed a complaint, the police turned the earlier suicide case at the Indira Gandhi Residential School in Kansur of Siddapur taluk into a murder case. She stated in her complaint that her son witnessed the teacher, Abu Thala, misbehaving with a girl from the ninth standard.
"When Abu Thala found out that our son had witnessed his misdemeanour, he squeezed Gokul's neck and threatened to kill him if he told anyone about the indecent incident," she stated in the complaint.
Gokul was found hanging using a towel from a window grill in a room at the hostel 15 days ago.
Abu Thala and the in-charge principal of the school, Javed, have been placed under suspension.
After Gokul's death, BJP and Congress workers, and local residents had staged a dharna demanding a thorough investigation. After the protests, the managing director of the Residential Education Societies Sangha had suspended Javed and Abu Thala, who is also the Hindi teacher at the school. Karwar DySP SV Girish is heading the investigation team.
Jayashri stated in her complaint that Gokul was studying at the school for the last two years. "The last time I visited him at the school, I saw a part of his neck swollen. When I asked him about it, he did not say anything. But when he came home for vacation, he said he saw his hostel warden, Abu Thala behaving indecently with a girl from 9th standard. Our son said Abu Thala held his neck and threatened to kill him if he told anyone about the indecency," she stated in the complaint.
She mentioned that her older son revealed that Abu Thala had been transferred from a school in Hasikatta village after he was found to be misbehaving with a girl student there too.
She pointed out that when Gokul died, the entire Kansur village had electricity, but the school did not. "I strongly suspect that Abu Thala might be responsible for my son's death," she stated. The police have registered a case under Section 103 of BNSS. Another case has been filed under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which mandates punishment for cruelty against Children.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)
