A 16-year-old Class XI student in Tamil Nadu died by suicide after facing caste-based harassment and bullying over his choice to eat beef, news agency Press Trust of India reported, citing police.The student, who attended a government-aided school, died at his home in Coimbatore on October 21. His mother claimed in a police complaint that the harassment had begun about two months earlier and later intensified.Police said a class teacher had asked students to disclose their caste backgrounds to identify Scheduled Caste students for a scholarship programme.
The teacher also asked about their food choices, including whether they ate beef.The boy and a few other students said they belonged to a Scheduled Caste and ate beef. A few days later, the boy was isolated, bullied and taunted by his classmates following the disclosure, police told PTI.
In her complaint, the boy's mother said he had informed the class teacher and the school principal about the repeated taunts, but no action was taken. She said that the resulting mental distress led to his death by hanging.Peelamedu police registered cases against the principal, the class teacher and two of the boy's classmates under the BNS for abetment of suicide and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The class teacher was arrested. The Tamil Nadu State Commission for Adi Dravidar and Tribal Communities has sought a report from the Coimbatore City Police Commissioner on the student's death.
It has also asked for details of the action taken against those responsible.The case concerns the death of a Class XI student following caste-based harassment and bullying at school, with four people booked and the class teacher arrested as authorities seek a report on the incident and the action taken.- Ends