A Class 11 student belonging to a Scheduled Caste community died by suicide at his Peelamedu home on Wednesday, with his parents alleging he faced harassment from a teacher and two classmates for consuming beef.
The deceased student was identified as A. Akilan, 16, son of Ashok Kumar and Kousalya Devi.
A case was registered against class teacher Vijayakumar, headmaster Arun Kumar, and two students of Shri K. K. Naidu Higher Secondary School near Peelamedu in Coimbatore on charges of abetment of suicide and other offences.
Kumar works as a laundry manager at a resort in Munnar, while Kousalya is a domestic help.
Kousalya found her son hanging from a ceiling fan in his bedroom when she returned home from work around 1 p.m. on Wednesday. Police were notified immediately, and the body was transferred to the ESI Government Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
According to the police complaint filed by his mother, Kousalya, the class teacher had asked students a few months ago who among them consumed beef while enrolling Scheduled Caste students for a scholarship scheme.
When Akilan and another student stood up, two classmates allegedly began targeting Akilan with caste-based taunts and physical assault, she told the police. Kousalya also alleged that despite her son reporting the harassment, both the class teacher and the headmaster failed to act.
Police registered a case under sections 115(2), 108 of BNS and 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and began an investigation.
Parents and relatives of Akilan protested in front of the police station on Wednesday evening, demanding a proper investigation and the arrest of the teacher and the headmaster.
"He wanted to become an advocate. The school management and the teacher are responsible for my son's death. We need justice for him."
