Peelamedu police in Coimbatore have registered a case against a teacher, the headmaster and two students of a government-aided school after the death by suicide of a 16-year-old Scheduled Caste student, according to a complaint filed by his mother. The case has brought allegations of caste-based isolation and questions about the school’s response under scrutiny.
The student, identified as A. Akilan, was studying in Class XI at KK Naidu government-aided school near Peelamedu. Police registered the case after Akilan’s mother, Kowsalya, approached them on Wednesday following his death at the family’s home near Peelamedu. Further investigation is under way.
According to the complaint cited in the report, Kowsalya said that Akilan had told her other students at the school had stopped speaking to him after learning that he belonged to a Scheduled Caste. She also alleged that a teacher had asked him whether he ate beef.
The complaint further alleges that the school’s headmaster failed to take action over the incident. Peelamedu police have named the teacher, the headmaster and two fellow students in the case. The report does not specify the three sections under which the case was registered.
Kowsalya had gone to work while Akilan remained at home near Peelamedu, the report said. When she returned, she found him hanging from the ceiling in a bedroom. The account of events and the allegations made by the family are now part of the police investigation.
The registration of the case does not establish that the alleged conduct caused Akilan’s death. Police will have to examine the sequence of events, statements from students and school staff, the family’s complaint and the school’s response before reaching conclusions about responsibility.
The incident also places attention on how schools respond when students report social exclusion or discrimination. In this case, the allegation that the headmaster did not act is part of the complaint being investigated. No separate response from the teacher, headmaster or school has been provided in the supplied report.
The case involves a government-aided institution, making the conduct of school personnel and the functioning of internal grievance mechanisms central to the investigation. It also highlights the importance of documenting complaints involving caste identity, peer isolation and student safety rather than treating them as informal disputes.
Peelamedu police are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding Akilan’s death and the allegations against the four people named in the case.
