Teacher charged with abetment after Dalit teen's suicide following alleged caste slur
A teacher at a government school in Usilampatti has been booked for abetment after a 16-year-old Dalit girl died by suicide amid claims of humiliation by the headmistress.
On August 25, a 16-year-old Dalit student who went to the Government Model Secondary School in Usilampatti to apply for nursing admission took her own life after an encounter with the headmistress. Police initially recorded a suicide, but on August 28 they amended the FIR to include abetment charges against a teacher at the school. The headmistress is accused of calling the girl arrogant and uttering a caste-based insult when the student asked her mother to straighten her folded hands.
The girl was found dead by hanging the following day. Her family has staged protests demanding action, while investigators are collecting school CCTV footage and consulting the District Child Welfare Committee and the Education Department to determine whether the SC/ST Act applies. The case underscores persistent caste tensions and concerns over harassment in Tamil Nadu schools.
Why it matters
It highlights caste-based discrimination and potential legal accountability in Indian schools.
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