Shankar*, a 22-year-old from Chinnasalem in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi district, recently completed his graduation and is now looking for work. Earlier this week, after the death of a 17-year-old student at Kaniyamoor Sakthi Matriculation School on July 13, Shankar and many of his friends and former classmates received invites to WhatsApp groups demanding justice for the deceased student. Throughout the week, they have been frantically receiving and forwarding updates related to the case, raising questions around the circumstances of her death, discussing minute details of the incident, questioning the involvement of the school management, and demanding action against them.
With rage and resentment brewing against the school management and the police, a protest was planned at the school on the morning of Sunday, July 17. But Shankar, who is a former student of Sakthi Matriculation School, says he and his peers had not anticipated the massive scale of protests that shook the state. They were only expecting a peaceful march when they left their homes on Sunday morning.
The student was found dead on July 13 near her hostel on the school premises. According to the police, a note found in her room alleged that she was being tortured by two teachers, which led to her taking her own life. The girl’s family had been holding a peaceful protest outside the school since her death, alleging that she had not died by suicide and that there had been foul play by the school management. But the family’s unclear concerns were soon spun into unsubstantiated but specific theories and widely circulated online and over WhatsApp.
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Several groups titled ‘Justice for [deceased student]’ were formed, adding hundreds of members to each group, in the days leading up to July 17. With no police action against the teachers named in the note by the student yet, soon forwarded messages and well-produced videos started to allege that there was a huge cover-up by the police and the school management. Deploying the viral hashtag seeking justice for the student, videos on YouTube propounded rumours as “evidence” with an authoritative voice and discussed theories holding the school management responsible for the girl’s death. One widely watched video had the anchor displaying a chat he had with an anonymous Instagram account. The anchor claimed that the handle belonged to a classmate of the dead student and the person had suspicions that the school management was involved or had led to her death.
CCTV footage of a young man walking at night was shared with claims that it showed a relative of the school’s owner entering and leaving the school, and linking it to the student’s death. Kallakurichi district police have said the information is false, and that the video is unrelated to the incident.
வேறு இடத்தில் நடந்த வீடியோவை கள்ளக்குறிச்சி கனியாமூர் பள்ளி சம்பவத்தோடு தொடர்புபடுத்தி பொய்செய்தியை, மக்கள் மத்தியில் கிளர்ச்சியை உறுவாக்க வேண்டும் என்ற நோக்கத்தில் பரப்பிவருகின்றனர். பொது மக்கள் யாரும் நம்ப வேண்டாம்.#fakenews #Viral #Kallakurichi https://t.co/TcLgq3roKW pic.twitter.com/YtuHklcSj6
— Kallakurichi District Police (@klkpolice) July 18, 2022
Some of the circulated messages and YouTube videos claimed that the girl had been sexually assaulted while others even insinuated that it could have been an incident of ‘human sacrifice’. Shankar said rumours were circulated that members of the school management had a history of sexually assaulting female students over the years. Messages said that the owner of the school and their relatives had misbehaved with girl students in the past, and that students had been harmed in the past too. Chinnasalem Inspector Chandrasekaran had earlier told TNM that so far they have uncovered two such suspicious deaths that had happened previously at the school, and that investigation is underway in this regard.
Some of these messages were circulated by various political parties, youth organisations, and also fan groups of huge Tamil film stars.
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After the post-mortem was done on July 14, some of the details of the report were also picked apart and analysed on these WhatsApp groups. Messages were circulated claiming that one of the injuries found on her body had been caused before her alleged suicide, insinuating that she had been hurt by someone. It must be noted that the post-mortem report does not indicate sexual assault. However, it does mention an injury on the breast, and this was pointed out as alarming by those speculating about the case.
With allegations hinting at sexual assault surfacing in many ways, Shankar says a lack of clear communication from the police and the school authorities, and a lack of action against the school administration until then fuelled misgivings and further speculation among local residents. Many people showed up to Sunday’s protest as they felt there had been no answers or clarifications to the many theories and doubts over the case doing the rounds.
According to a journalist from Kallakurichi, there was a lot of animosity towards the school management also because of their fee structure and a perceived high-handedness in their behaviour with the surrounding community.
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School buses being burned at Sakthi Matriculation School/PTI
It was a Sunday, I think this is why a lot more people turned up for the protest. All kinds of people had gathered for the protest, especially since there were doubts that more deaths had happened in the school in the previous years. Most people kept saying that when it came to girl students, the school was shady. We will obviously protest then, right?” another protester told TNM. By July 18, he said he had deleted all messages from his group on the justice campaign as the police had begun a crackdown.
The protests saw participation from different groups – alumni of the school, local residents from Chinnasalem and surrounding villages, including parents of schoolchildren, students, youngsters, and also people affiliated with various student organisations, political parties and caste groups, and others who were upset with the school management. According to the police, members of various political parties, including Opposition parties and allies of the ruling DMK, a few student groups, and some groups from the Thevar community to which the deceased student belonged, were all part of the protest. The numbers of protesters also swelled as messages were circulated claiming that the police had stopped protesters from the girl’s hometown, Periyanesalur, from going to the school.
With this, many local residents were induced to turn up at the protest to show solidarity, according to Shankar. A message inviting people to the protest on July 17 in front of the school instructed them to wear masks and black shirts, and asked college students to carry their ID cards. “The protest should be conducted in a peaceful way,” the final instruction said.
Protesters breaking through police barricades in front of Sakthi Matriculation School/PTI
In the midst of the protests on Sunday morning, as hundreds of youngsters charged toward the school, further instigating messages were shared on these groups. Videos and audio recordings, claiming to be from first-hand witnesses who were around when the school administration building was vandalised by protesters, said there were condoms found inside the building. “What more evidence do you need to take action?” a man was seen asking in one of the videos. Another voice recording alleged that this information was being covered up by the school and therefore not covered by mainstream media. In the heat of the agitation at the school, these messages further inflamed protesters, says Shankar.
Police barricades partially damaged in the protest
According to Kallakurichi SP Selvakumar, the police only expected a few hundreds of protesters and were initially vastly outnumbered when thousands turned up at the school. An intelligence officer told TNM that while authorities had taken notice of the online campaign that was going on for the past three to four days, they had assessed that around a thousand people were likely to assemble for the protest. “We alerted the range DIG and he was asked to go to the spot. But more than 3,500 people turned up. It was a leaderless crowd and the police were unable to handle the situation,” he said, adding that the protesters belonged to a mix of various political parties and groups. “The average age of the crowd was 20-30 years. Those who indulged in violence were all people from outside and those who took away things from the school are local residents,” he said.
As the vandalism escalated, a police van and nearly 15 school buses were set on fire. A few protesters brought in a tractor to ram into the buses, and the tractor too was later set on fire. Many small fires raged in different parts of the building. Most of the window glasses were shattered, and many vehicles parked on the school premises were also damaged. Tamil Nadu Schools Association President Nandakumar told TNM that the damage to the school property was around Rs 5 crore.
Buses damaged in the protest
A sense of unease prevailed in the neighbouring villages on Sunday afternoon following the protest, with a heavy police presence and patrolling after prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) were imposed. So far, the police have arrested around 330 people involved in the violence at the school, and more arrests are likely to follow. On Monday, the Madras High Court took serious note of Sunday’s violence and directed the Tamil Nadu government to form special teams to identify and take action against those who were behind it.
Police personnel at the school after the protest was ended
Meanwhile, two teachers have been arrested by the police in connection with the student’s death following the massive protests, along with the school correspondent Ravikumar, Secretary Shanti, and Principal Sivasangaran. After the girl’s father moved the Madras High Court, Tamil Nadu DGP Sylendra Babu announced that the investigation was being transferred to the CBCID, a special investigation wing of the Tamil Nadu police.
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If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.
Tamil Nadu
State health department's suicide helpline: 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)
Andhra Pradesh
Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930
Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584
Karnataka
Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222
Kerala
Maithri: 0484 2540530
Chaithram: 0484 2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Telangana
State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104
Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200
SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm)
Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.
24x7 Helpline: 9820466726
Click here for working helplines across India.