Teacher used casteist slurs, abetted son's suicide, alleges SC woman
DINDIGUL: An SC woman from Palani of Dindigul alleged that her 14-year-old son died by suicide as his teacher used casteist slurs and made him undress in front of other students in the class, causing him emotional distress.
The victim’s mother told TNIE, “I belong to the SC community and my son was a Class 10 student at a private school. While my husband died in a road accident a few years ago, I went through hardships to support my son’s education.
On November 18, his math teacher reprimanded him for scoring low marks and also used casteist slurs. He also made my son undress in front of the class. Shocked, my son slipped into a depressive state and due to the public humiliation, he died by suicide on November 19.”
While a case was registered at the Palani Taluk police station, no abetment of suicide case was registered against the math teacher, who is the primary culprit. No action was taken against the teacher despite filing several complaints and petitions, she alleged.
However, the police dismissed her allegations as baseless and termed it a suicide case. A top police officer told TNIE, “The boy’s mother works at an old age home in Coimbatore and her son was in the custody of his uncle and stayed with him.
Reportedly, the teacher conducted a math test, wherein 29 students failed in the class. He warned the students that the bad performance would lead to poor marks in the Class 10 Board exams. Since the boy died by suicide as he scored less marks, the teacher has nothing to do with the death.”
(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on TN’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)