The Madras High Court has granted bail to five staff members of the Kaniyamoor Sakthi Matriculation School in Kallakurichi district’s Chinnasalem in connection with the death of a Class 12 student on the school premises in July. The High Court on Friday, August 26, granted bail to school principal Sivasangaran, correspondent Ravikumar, secretary Shanti and two others. The conditions of the bail are, however, not clear yet. While hearing the five arrested persons’ petition earlier this week, the Madras High Court had questioned the CB-CID on why all evidence to hold the five officials had not been submitted yet.
On July 13, a Class 12 girl was found dead in the hostel on the school premises, and a note found in her room alleged that she was “tortured” by some teachers at the school. The girl’s family and others had staged a sit-in on the Kallakurichi-Salem highway near the school, alleging foul play in her death. While the protests remained largely peaceful, they took a violent turn on July 17, when hundreds of protesters broke into the school premises and caused heavy destruction of property including arson, as several vehicles and buildings at the school were burnt down. Nearly 300 people were arrested for the violence, out of whom about 20 were juveniles. The High Court had said that the violence “was not mere eruption of sudden provocation, rather, it appears to be motivated, planned and calculated. There is some force behind it.”
Later, upon request from the girl’s family, the Madras High Court directed that the case of her death be transferred to the CB-CID. Five of the school officials, among whom two were teachers, were later arrested. Meanwhile, the police have warned of legal action against any person or entity conducting a ‘parallel media investigation’, as it affects the investigation being undertaken by the police into the 17-year-old’s death.