THOOTHUKUDI: A class XI student committed suicide allegedly after a teacher made her do 101 sit-ups as punishment for absenting herself from the school for a long period.
Demanding immediate arrest of the teacher, the parents and relatives of the girl staged a protest in front of the school on Saturday.
The deceased was Maria Iswarya (16), studying in VVD Memorial Higher Secondary School near Arokiyapuram.
Her father Karunakaran is a construction worker and mother Puranaselvi is a temporary staff at Government Thoothukudi Medical College and Hospital.
Sources said when that Iswarya returned to school on Saturday, Computer Science teacher P Gnanaprakasam instructed her to do sit-ups for 101 times as a punishment for taking leave.
"Depressed, Iswarya returned home in the afternoon and hung herself. The incident came to light when her younger brother, studying at the same school, returned home around 3 pm," they said.
Based on a complaint lodged by the parents, Thalamuthunagar police registered a case against the teacher and the school headmaster under Section 306 IPC for abetting suicide.
Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on Tamil Nadu's health helpline 104 and Sneha's suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.