Government school headmistress held for 'abetting suicide' of student in TN's 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, Aug 31.

Usilampatti Taluk Police who initially registered a case of suspicious death on 25 August altered the charges after the victim's mother filed a formal complaint against the headmistress identified as Vimaladevi.

Police said the teenager a resident of Thottappanaickanur had recently enrolled at a government school in Poochipatti. After she stopped attending classes the school management instructed her parents to collect her Transfer Certificate and enrol her elsewhere.

Seeking new admission the girl and her mother visited the government school in Usilampatti. 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.

The headmistress allegedly reprimanded the girl following this and refused immediate admission saying she would first inquire with the Poochipatti school about the reason for the TC's 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 her daughter was driven to the extreme step by derogatory language used by the headmistress during the altercation.

Police have registered a case against Vimaladevi based on the complaint and a probe is under way.