In a horrifying murder that took place inside a school classroom, a teacher was stabbed to death in front of her students at a school in Thirumangalam near Madurai on Monday afternoon. The crime that took place in front of children has caused unrest among people in Thirumangalam on Monday.
35-year-old G Rathidevi, hailing from Kariapatti in Virudhunagar district had joined the government-aided school in Thirumangalam as Social Science teacher just last month. The assailant who allegedly committed the crime was her husband Guru Muneeswaran, who was later arrested by Thirumangalam Town Police. An FIR has been filed under IPC 302 (Murder).
The incident took place around 3.30 pm on Monday afternoon when Rathidevi was teaching Class 8 students. Thirty-seven-year-old Guru, a civil engineer, had come to meet Rathidevi while she was in class and an argument allegedly broke out between the two. Guru then allegedly stabbed Rathidevi with the knife he stealthily brought with him into the school.
Speaking to TNM, Thirumangalam DSP Arun says, “It seems to have been a family problem. They were married for eight years and have 6-year-old twins but Rathidevi has been living with her mother in her hometown for the past five-and-a-half years. Guru had been asking her to move in with him to his hometown in Ramanathapuram but since she kept refusing, as a last resort he decided to kill her.” Guru was employed at a private firm in Chennai until last year.
TNM’s repeated efforts to reach out to the school proved to be futile. An official from Thirumangalam DEO office has confirmed to TNM that a report has been submitted to the school education department. “A holiday has been declared in the school for Tuesday and counselling sessions for students will be conducted based on further instructions from the department,” he adds.