Investigation into Kallakurichi schoolgirl’s death almost complete, final report will be filed within three months, CB-CID tells HC

Judge rejects plea to permit the school to conduct classes from LKG to Class XII without knowing whether the children of tender age are psychologically prepared for it

The Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) on Wednesday told the Madras High Court that it has almost completed the investigation into the death of a Class XII girl inside the building of a private school at Kaniyamoor in Kallakurichi district on July 13 and that a final report would be filed within three months.

Appearing before Justice R. Suresh Kumar, State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohammed Jinnah also said, the investigating officer had sent a communication to the Collector on August 24 itself stating that the school buildings could be handed over to the management anytime and that they were not required anymore for investigation.

The submissions were made during the hearing of a writ petition filed by Latha Educational Society Kaniyamoor which runs Sakthi Matriculation Higher Secondary School affiliated to the State Board as well as ECR International School affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) from four different blocks on the same campus.

The buildings housing the two schools were vandalised and ransacked by a mob on July 17 in the violence that ensued after the death of the schoolgirl. However, now that two of the four buildings had been restored fully after the repair works, the society sought permission for resuming physical classes from Lower Kindergarten to Class XII.

However, not wanting to take the risk of forcing children of tender age to attend school without knowing whether they were psychologically prepared to do so after the large scale violence, the judge said that for now only the students from Class IX to XII of both the schools could be allowed to attend physical classes in the two blocks.

A decision on allowing the rest of the students too to attend the physical classes could be taken after a month, the judges said. Taking note of the society’s submission that it does not intend to run the hostel for now, he directed the district administration to lock and seal the third floor of the ‘A’ block where the hostel was functioning earlier.