Police probe plus-one student’s suicide in Kochi following harassment allegations against teachers

Kochi: Puthencruz police have launched a probe into allegations that harassment by school staff may have driven a 16-year-old Plus-One student to suicide, following protests by students and complaints from parents.

The investigation comes after the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights took suo motu cognisance of the death and directed the Station House Officer of Puthencruz police station to submit a comprehensive report.

Abel Siju, a Plus-One student of St Peter’s Vocational Higher Secondary School (VHSS), Kolenchery, died by suicide at his residence in Thammanimattom last Friday, hours after school authorities confiscated mobile phones from students on the campus.

The issue escalated on Monday when a group of students barged into a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meeting, alleging that teachers had unlocked the confiscated phones, gone through private chat messages and ridiculed Abel and other students.

The police initially registered a case of unnatural death under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Officials said multiple complaints have since been received and investigators are examining whether the allegations disclose any offence, including abetment of suicide.

“A few complaints have been received at the station from students or parents,” a senior officer from the Puthencruz police circle said.

“The allegations are that the teacher unlocked the mobile phone and, in a manner of mocking them, read out messages. We have to verify the authenticity of that and examine whether it legally amounts to abetment,” the officer said.

The police are also trying to reconstruct what happened after Abel was sent home from school.

“We are verifying the suicide abetment angle. Also, here the boy was sent home from school with his sister after the phone seizure and the parents’ meeting with the principal. We need to ascertain if any altercation took place between them, if his family scolded him, or how sensitive his temperament was before arriving at a conclusion,” the officer said.

Investigators are also examining social media footage believed to have been recorded around the time the phones were confiscated.

“A student had posted a video on Instagram showing confiscated phones lying on a table with a teacher and three or four students standing nearby. That appears to be around the time the incident occurred. We will question everyone who was present there individually to record their statements,” the officer said.

School denies accessing phones
The school management has denied the allegations of misconduct, maintaining that the phones were collected as part of the school’s routine procedure and that none of them was accessed.

“No such incident occurred. How could we check their chats when we don’t even know the passwords?” Principal Mary told Onmanorama.

According to the principal, students are permitted to leave their mobile phones in the staff room during school hours. The action on the day of the incident followed a phone ringing during a class.

“Students are allowed to leave their phones in the staff room during school hours. That day, a phone rang during class. Following that, around 16 phones were collected from across the school,” she said.

The principal said the students themselves switched off the phones before they were placed in a tray.

“The students themselves powered them off, and we kept them in a tray to be handed over directly to parents that very evening. Abel was among those whose phones were taken, but it was not his phone that rang in class,” she said.

The management has agreed to conduct an internal inquiry into the grievances raised by students, Principal Mary said.

The teacher against whom the allegations have been raised has also proceeded on two days’ leave following the incident.

The police are expected to question the students, school staff and others who were present when the phones were confiscated as part of the inquiry. Investigators will also examine the complaints, social media footage and other circumstances surrounding Abel’s death before deciding whether further criminal action is warranted.