Namakkal: Senior officials of the National SC/ST Commission conducted an inquiry on Wednesday at the government school near Tiruchengode where a Dalit boy studying Class IV was battered to death by two of his classmates recently.
The Class IV boy, P.Surya died on March 5, five days after he was attacked by his two classmates in a scuffle that broke out at their panchayat union elementary school at Kozhikalnatham near Tiruchengode in Namakkal district.
The SC/ST panel officials, A. Iniyan and S.Lister held inquiries with the school students. After their daylong inquiry, the officials said there did not appear to be any caste discrimination in the school. “There seems to be no discrimination against Dalit students,” the officials said. The boy’s death triggered protests by their parents and relatives who demanded action against the school authorities for negligence, which led to the tragedy.
The two boys who attacked Surya were arrested on charges of murder and under various sections of the Prevention of atrocities against SC/ST Act.
The school headmistress, K.Kanagavalli was also placed under suspension.
The boy’s father, Palanisamy, had petitioned the district collector V.Dakshinamurthy for stringent action against the accused, school administration and also demanded compensation. The boy’s family was given a compensation of Rs 2.81 lakh by the Adidravidar Welfare department.
