SIT Chief: 56 people have been held in connection with violence that broke out at the private school on 17 July.
Published Aug 30, 2022 | 8:10 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 31, 2022 | 6:35 PM
A status report into the violence that broke out on 17 July has been submitted to the court by the SIT.
A 26 August order from the Madras High Court, which became available only on Monday, August 29, put paid to a lot of speculation and conspiracy theories surrounding the death of a 17-year-old girl student of the Sakthi Matric Higher Secondary School near Chinnasalem in Kallakurichi district of Tamil Nadu.
The high court, which in the order also granted bail to five people arrested in connection with the case, ruled that the girl — whose body was found on the school premises on 13 July — had died by suicide, and there was no rape or murder angle to it, as speculated by many, including the girl’s parents.
As for the five accused who got bail, they were two women teachers, the correspondent of the school, his wife (also the secretary of the school), and the principal.
The court came to the conclusion about the girl’s cause of death based on two autopsy reports and an expert opinion from a team of doctors from JIPMER in Puducherry.
The conclusion of the first autopsy report read: “The deceased would appear to have died of haemorrhage and shock due to multiple injuries sustained.”
The second autopsy, performed by a group of doctors appointed by the Madras High Court after the parents of the student alleged foul play in her death and expressed dissatisfaction over the first post-mortem examination, also stated that “the deceased would appear to have died due to the effects of multiple injuries sustained (chest, abdomen and pelvis)”.
Further, a team of experts from JIPMER, as per the directions of the court, went through the two autopsy reports, videos, and ancillary supplied documents which matched with the opinions on the cause of death as mentioned in the post-mortem reports.
As for the mark found in the right breast of the deceased, the court noted in its order that “it would have happened due to gravel injuries sustained while she had jumped from the third floor and touching the floor”.
With respect to the blood stain found in her inner garments, the court said that it was due to the “extravasation of blood in the surrounding para vertebral muscles”, which oozed into her inner garments. There were no injuries found on her private parts, the court stated.
The order further said that the red-colour mark found on the third floor of the school hostel, which was used in many social-media videos to suggest foul play in the student’s death, was not blood but red paint, as analysed by the experts.
This put to rest the speculation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories around the teen’s death, which was one of the primary reasons why the issue flared up on 17 July, with a protest demanding justice for the minor turning violent. Miscreants indulged in arson, vandalism and violence.
Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan also observed that even by the suicide note left behind by the student, “there is no evidence to show that the accused instigated the deceased to commit suicide soon before her death”.
The court said: “The teachers, when they are directing their students to study well… it is part and parcel of the teaching and it would not amount to abetment to commit suicide. Therefore, the offence under Section 305 of IPC is not at all attracted as against the petitioners.”
The court also stated that it regrets the student’s death by suicide after facing trouble in her studies, and that it should not happen in the future.
Praveen Kumar Abinapu, head of the Special Investigative Team (SIT), probing the violence that erupted at the private school in Kallakurichi on 17 July, submitted a status report to the Madras High Court on Monday regarding the investigation and action taken so far.
In his report, the officer stated that damages worth ₹3.5 crore to the school building, vehicles, and other properties had been assessed by various departments and authorities. The assessment reports from Public Works Department (PWD) with regard to the damages caused to the civil structure and electrical fittings inside the school premises were yet to be received.
With respect to the investigation, Kumar submitted to the court that 202 witnesses had been examined by the investigation officers so far, which included 68 injured police personnel.
He also informed the court that exclusive cyber-analysis teams were assisting investigating officers in the analysis of “mobile-tower call data records (CDRs), mobile phone CDRs, WhatsApp groups, rioting videos, and photographs collected from various sources”, and provocative or misleading materials found on online platforms “in order to identify the perpetrators of the crime”.
To identify those who indulged in vandalism and arson, 954 videos and 150 photographs had been collected.
In total, 53 accused and three children in conflict with the law have been arrested or apprehended and sent to judicial custody and juvenile homes, respectively, in connection with the case.
The SIT informed the court that it had collected information regarding several WhatsApp groups under various names, through which protestors were “instigated and made to congregate” near the school on 17 July.
“Seven such WhatsApp groups are identified so far and the mobile numbers of creator/admin/members of these groups are being collected and analyzed. Based on the analysis of chat history, mobile numbers of creator/ admin/active members who posted audio/ text messages instigating the members of the group to indulge in violent protest are being shortlisted and their actual identity is being ascertained, [sic]” the status report read.
At least 13 such accused have been arrested so far, Kumar added.
A requisition was also sent for blocking of content in 63 YouTube links, 31 Twitter links, and 25 Facebook links (including two on Instagram) that were found to be spreading false information or conducting a parallel investigation or trial.
| Online platform | Total links | Blocked/ Removed |
| YouTube | 63 | 59 |
| 31 | 07 | |
| 25 | 23 |
K Nanthakumar, the commissioner of the state’s School Education Department, also filed a status report in the Madras High Court based on the 29 July directions of the court.
The commissioner submitted that, to alleviate the problems faced by the schoolchildren during their “crucial adolescent period”, psychological counselling is critical for building self-confidence and self-esteem, and to inculcate the ability to handle pressure and failure [sic]”.
Considering the importance of counselling, he stated that the education department set up 10 mobile Psychological Counselling Centres and 10 Psychological Counsellors were appointed for the purpose as per a 2012 government order.
In 2015, seven more psychological counselling centres were added, raising the total number of such centres from 10 to 17 for the 32 districts in the state.
The psychological counsellors were giving counselling not only to the students but also to the parents of the concerned student, he added.
| Year | No: of schools benefitted | No: of students benefitted |
| 2015-16 | 1696 | 3,15,754 |
| 2016-17 | 1242 | 2,31,542 |
| 2017-18 | 1240 | 2,16,592 |
| 2018-19 | 1373 | 2,23,379 |
| 2019-20 | 984 | 1,49,037 |
Nanthakumar further submitted that the centres stopped functioning from the year 2020 since the schools remained closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also informed the court that a new Health and Well-being module under the ongoing School Health Programme was inaugurated by Chief Minister MK Stalin in July 2022 to handle the physical and mental well-being of school students.
Apart from providing details of the programme, he listed out the various co-curricular and extracurricular activities that have been introduced in all schools.
