NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, JULY 17
Protesters set torched buses and vandalised school property on Sunday over the death by suicide of a Class XII student in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi. The girl, who was studying in Kaniyamoor Sakthi Matriculation School near Chinnasalem, died at her hostel on Tuesday, July 12. Following the violence, all private schools will remain closed in the state tomorrow.
Kallakkurichi
Thaniyar School pic.twitter.com/ZgBc4DmChw— priyan (@VISHNUPRIYAN618) July 17, 2022
Police said Section 144 had been imposed in the area after violence broke out as thousands gathered in front of the girl’s school demanding justice.
The protesters pelted a police van with stones and damaged the vehicle despite an effort by policeme to control the situation. The report also mentioned that some policemen also sustained injuries.
- At the conclusion of the ongoing police investigation into the student’s death, the culprits will surely be punished: Chief Minister MK Stalin
- In their complaint to the police, the family also alleged that the girl might have been sexually assaulted and killed
உள்துறைச் செயலாளரையும், காவல்துறை தலைமை இயக்குநரையும் கள்ளக்குறிச்சிக்குச் செல்ல உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளேன். அரசின் நடவடிக்கைகளின் மேல் நம்பிக்கை வைத்துப் பொதுமக்கள் அமைதி காக்க வேண்டுகிறேன். (2/2)
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) July 17, 2022
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin tweeted in Tamil, “The situation in Kallakurichi is deplorable. At the conclusion of the ongoing police investigation into the student’s death, the culprits will surely be punished. I have ordered the Home Secretary and the Director General of Police to go to Kallakurichi. I request the public to keep calm by trusting the government’s actions.”
Police said the girl student died by suicide in the school premises and, according to a note found, she accused two school teachers of torturing her and forcing the students to study all the time. Police said a case had been under Section 174 (unnatural death).
However, the girl’s family alleges that her death was not by suicide. Her uncle Sabarinathan said, “The child’s death was not a suicide. It is clear from the fact that what we saw is different from what the school is claiming. Her body has several injuries but the school claims that she died of suicide.”
In their complaint to the police, the family also alleged that the girl might have been sexually assaulted and killed, as the complaint states that the girl’s injuries were not consistent with the school’s version of events. Sabarinathan alleged that the school management was responsible for her death, and said that they would not accept the body from the police until those responsible are held. The family and others have also alleged that similar such deaths have taken place in the school.