Tamil Nadu: School headmistress booked after Class 11 student dies by suicide near Usilampatti

A case has been registered against a government school headmistress for abetment of suicide and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, following the death of a Class 11 student near Usilampatti, police said on Monday. The Usilampatti Taluk Police, which initially registered a case of suspicious death on August 25, altered the charges after the victim's mother filed a formal complaint against the headmistress, identified as Vimaladevi.

According to the police, the teenager, a resident of Thottappanaickanur, had recently enrolled in a government school in Poochipatti. After she stopped attending classes, the school management instructed her parents to collect her Transfer Certificate (TC) and enroll her elsewhere. Seeking a new admission, the girl and her mother visited the government school in Usilampatti.

Also read ‘This is my way of giving back...’: CJP’s Ashutosh Ranka on ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign

During the inquiry, the mother reportedly stood before the headmistress with her arms folded. Objecting to her mother's submissive posture, the student intervened and pulled her mother's hands apart. Following this, the headmistress allegedly reprimanded the girl and refused immediate admission, stating she would first inquire with the Poochipatti school regarding the reason for the TC issuance. The next day, the student visited the Poochipatti school, collected her TC, and returned home.

She was found hanging at her residence later that evening. In her police complaint, the mother alleged that her daughter was driven to the extreme step due to the derogatory language used by the headmistress during the altercation. Based on the complaint, police registered a case against Vimaladevi and initiated a probe. Further investigation is underway.