Coimbatore School Student Suicide: Parents Demand CBCID Probe, Protest Enters Sixth Day

Coimbatore: The parents of Akilan, a Class 11 student who died by suicide last Wednesday following alleged caste-based harassment at his school, have demanded that the case be transferred to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CBCID), saying they have lost faith in the police investigation.

The sit-in protest by the student's parents, relatives and progressive organisations demanding the arrest of the teachers concerned entered its sixth day on Monday. Two juvenile classmates were booked over alleged caste-based harassment and remanded to a juvenile observation home. However, the parents are demanding the arrest of Arunkumar, the headmaster, and Vijayakumar, a teacher at KK Naidu School in Peelamedu, where Akilan was studying.

The parents have maintained that they will not receive their son's body until the two teachers are arrested. Initially, the family staged a protest for two days at the Peelamedu police station before shifting their sit-in to the District Collectorate. They are now continuing the protest under a makeshift tent in front of the South Taluk Office.

Meanwhile, the parents and representatives of progressive organisations met the Inspector General of Police and Coimbatore Police Commissioner Ramya Bharathi in person, urging them to transfer the case to the CBCID for an independent investigation.

Speaking to reporters, Akilan's father, Ashok Kumar, said that even after six days, the police had not established the witnesses required for the investigation. He said the family had consequently lost confidence in the probe and wanted a different team to investigate the case. He also questioned whether the police were acting in a manner that would protect the teachers.

Marxist Communist Party secretary Padmanabhan, who joined the protest, said the government should order a CBCID investigation. He also demanded compensation under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and government employment for a member of the bereaved family. He expressed hope that the government would issue the necessary orders.

Padmanabhan warned that the protest would continue if a CBCID probe was not ordered. Asked whether the family would accept the student's body if the investigation were transferred, he said they would decide on their next course of action after receiving government orders concerning employment and relief announced by the Chief Minister.