Coimbatore police arrest teacher following Dalit student's suicide

Police in Coimbatore have arrested a teacher and booked a school headmaster and two students following the suicide of a 16-year-old Dalit student, A Akilan. The Class XI student reportedly died at his home in Peelamedu on October 21 after facing repeated caste-based harassment and taunts regarding his food choices.

According to the police investigation and a complaint filed by the boy's mother, Kousalyadevi, the harassment involved casteist slurs and verbal abuse from classmates. The allegations suggest that a class teacher, Vijayakumar, had previously asked students about their dietary habits, specifically regarding beef consumption, which triggered the targeting of Akilan.

The family alleges that school authorities, including the headmaster Arunkumar, failed to intervene despite being notified of the discrimination. Charges have been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Relatives have staged protests demanding accountability for the school's failure to protect the student.