Agitators stormed the school where the girl died and set fire to buses parked inside; they also pelted stones at the police.
Published Jul 17, 2022 | 2:17 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 27, 2022 | 12:15 PM
Police vehicle vandalised by protestors in Kallakurichi. (Umar Sharieef/ South First)
Violence broke out at Kaniyamoor in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi district on Sunday, 17 July, when hundreds of protestors demanding justice over the death of a class 12 girl went on a rampage, setting fire to vehicles and indulging in stone-pelting, in which several police personnel were injured.
Chief Minister MK Stalin appealed to the people to maintain peace and assured them that those guilty would be punished. Stalin tweeted saying he has directed the state home secretary and director general of police to rush to Kallakurichi.
உள்துறைச் செயலாளரையும், காவல்துறை தலைமை இயக்குநரையும் கள்ளக்குறிச்சிக்குச் செல்ல உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளேன். அரசின் நடவடிக்கைகளின் மேல் நம்பிக்கை வைத்துப் பொதுமக்கள் அமைதி காக்க வேண்டுகிறேன். (2/2)
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) July 17, 2022
According to police, the protestors, including the girl’s relatives and people from her village — Periyanesalur in the Cuddalore district — stormed the Sakthi Matric Higher Secondary School, where the girl was found dead, early on 17 July.
“The agitators have torched school buses and vandalised school property,” Kallakurichi Superintendent of Police (SP) Selvakumar said.
The SP said they pelted stones at security personnel deployed at the school to prevent any untoward incident.
“When security forces tried to prevent the agitators from creating a ruckus, hundreds attacked the police personnel, pelted stones on our force and vandalised a few of our vehicles too,” the SP added.
According to Selvakumar, several police personnel were injured in the stone-pelting.
“Police resorted to lathi charge to disperse the agitators,” the SP added.
Traffic was blocked on the Chennai-Trichy and Kallakurichi-Salem highways due to the protest.
Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) Sylendra Babu urged the agitators to disperse and promised a proper probe of the incident.
Senior officials of the administration and police are currently in talks with relatives of the deceased girl.
“Talks between administration and agitators are going on,” Kallakurichi District Collector Sridhar told reporters.
The class 12 girl was found dead near her hostel building on Wednesday, 13 July. The Tamil Nadu Police on basis of the suicide note recovered arrested two teachers of the school.
The girl in her suicide note had accused the two teachers of torturing her.
According to the girl’s suicide note, the two teachers regularly scolded her for scoring low marks in their subjects.
