TIRUPPUR: The State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has decided to investigate an incident in which a 13-year-old SC student was flung into a burning garbage pit by two classmates at a government-aided school in Kunnathur in Tiruppur district last month.
Earlier it had requested the Tiruppur District Collector to submit a detailed report by February 27.
The Commission which quizzed the boy on Thursday found that students cleaned their classrooms and burned the garbage every day and he was distressed over it.
KS Kandasamy, Member Secretary of the Commission, in a letter to the Collector pointed out the services of sanitation workers were unavailable at the school.
The alleged incident happened on January 30 evening when the garbage was set on fire by students on the school premises. Two classmates allegedly pushed the boy down, held his hands and legs, and threw him into the burning garbage.
The boy sustained severe burns and is currently receiving treatment at a private hospital in Coimbatore. His parents had claimed that caste-based abuse led to the incident but the police claimed the students were playfully pushing one another. In the course of such play, two students held the injured boy by his hands and legs and swung him, during which he accidentally lost balance and fell into the burning garbage pit.
Meanwhile, the school has issued a notice to a few teachers seeking an explanation.
A senior education department official said, "Since it is a government-aided school, the school correspondent has been instructed to take appropriate action and submit a report. Based on this, the school administration has issued notice to a few teachers seeking an explanation."
Collector Manish Narnaware said, "We have sent our report to the Commission in this regard. Further steps are being taken."