Amid massive protests, the Madras High Court in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu has ordered a second autopsy of a 12th grader who allegedly killed herself at her school after accusing two teachers of torture.
The student, R Srimathi was found dead near her hostel building on the private residential school's campus at Chinna Salem near Kallakurichi on July 13 morning, according to reports.
A preliminary investigation revealed the teen jumped off the third floor of her hostel building.
The cause of death as mentioned in the first autopsy was multiple injuries and hemorrhage.
During a search, investigators recovered a suicide note from the teen victim’s hostel room. The note, purportedly written by the teen victim, indicated that she was being tortured by two of her teachers.
The girl said in the note that her teachers humiliated her for scoring poor grades in several subjects, reports said.
"The two teachers were brought to the police station for an inquiry. They told us they just casually asked her to concentrate more and study hard as she was very playful," Kallakurichi SP S Selvakumar told The Indian Express.
"The suicide note says the girl was scolded by these teachers and the other teachers also know about the incident," he added.
However, the victim’s family claimed foul play, alleging that a wall near the spot where the teen was found dead had the mark of a bloodied palm, reports said.
The school girl’s death sparked massive protests with an angry mob going on a rampage on the school campus, vandalizing classrooms, and setting school buses on fire.
Over 100 suspects have been taken into custody for rioting.
"Instead of peaceful protest, they started attacking. Had to lathi-charge. Now, an added 500 police personnel have been sent. We want to arrest all accused who attacked a school. No one should be spared. We have videos as well," Tamil Nadu DGP C Sylendra Babu said.
"The school girl died of natural causes, we registered a case. Parents approached HC for another post-mortem. A small group of people came to protest at school, we made arrangements but they collected a larger number of people," added C Sylendra Babu.
On Monday, July 18, the accused chemistry teacher, Haripriya, the mathematics teacher, Kritika, the school principal, and the secretary, were arrested.
On the same day, the Madras High Court ordered a second autopsy but turned down the parents' request to include a doctor of their choice in the medical panel.
"Kallakurichi incidents have caused so much pain. Educational institutions must think of students as their own children and teach. Anything happening against this, I warn we will make you stand before the law and punish. Exploiting this tragic incident, some have joined together and acted against law. All should realize violence is against growth. Only a peaceful Tamil Nadu can be an inclusive Tamil Nadu," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.
The court has asked police to take strict actions against those conducting social media trials.
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