Tamil Nadu police have registered a case against a school principal, a teacher and two students following the death of a Class 11 Dalit student in Coimbatore. The boy’s parents have alleged that he faced caste-based harassment and was targeted over his consumption of beef.
The student was found dead at his residence in Peelamedu, Coimbatore, on October 21. Police said all four accused have been detained, while the principal and the teacher have been suspended.
According to the parents’ complaint, the class teacher recently asked students from the Scheduled Caste community to stand up in class and questioned them about whether they consumed beef. The student reportedly admitted that he did, following which his classmates allegedly began harassing him.
Police have registered a case under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, relating to abetment of suicide. The exact circumstances surrounding the student’s death are being investigated.
The boy’s father, who works at a private hotel in Kerala, staged a protest outside the Coimbatore district collectorate on Friday, demanding justice for his son. His mother works as a domestic help in Coimbatore’s Peelamedu area.
The incident has triggered demands for action from political leaders and organisations. Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol Thirumavalavan called for the arrest of everyone responsible and urged the government to establish social justice student groups in schools.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president B. Manickam Tagore also condemned the alleged caste discrimination, calling for a swift investigation and appropriate punishment for those found responsible.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary P. Shanmugam alleged that the student had been humiliated on the basis of his caste and questioned the school authorities’ response to the reported harassment.
Police are continuing their investigation into the allegations and the circumstances leading to the student’s death.
