Principal and PE teacher arrested in Chennai over schoolboy death

Chennai: Police on Thursday arrested the principal and physical education teacher of Don Bosco higher secondary school, Perambur, in connection with a class 10 student's death, who swooned on the school premises on Wednesday.
Police investigations have confirmed that teenager M. Narendran (15) was made to do 'duck walk' as part of a punishment for coming late for school.

Thiru Vi Ka Nagar police had registered a case under section 174 CrPC (suspicious death) after it was initially reported that the boy swooned during prayer meeting. There were no external injuries on his body.

Narendran had come late to school by over half an hour after which PE teacher Jay Singh had given him corporal punishment along with a few others. It is then that Narendran had collapsed on the ground after which he was moved to a hospital nearby, where he was declared brought dead.

The boy’s parents were informed by a few of his classmates that Narendran was made to do duck walk after which the parents filed a police complaint. On Thursday, police perused CCTV footage from the school, which confirmed that the boy was meted out corporal punishment.

Based on the available evidence, police arrested school principal Arul Lourdusamy and physical education teacher Jay Singh on Thursday. They were booked under section 304 (a) of IPC (causing death due to negligence), said a senior police officer.

As the news of the boy’s death spread, parents and kin of the boy staged a protest outside the school on Thursday. The school management had declared a holiday on Thursday.

CCTV camera reveals PE teacher punishing student
 A day after a school boy died, school authorities and teachers have maintained that M. Narendran (15) had collapsed during the prayer meeting.

However, probe by the district educational authorities and police at the school on Thursday showed that the boy had indeed collapsed during the corporal punishment by the physical education teacher and the same was captured on the CCTV camera.

In a preliminary inquiry, teachers and management of Don Bosco Higher Secondary School in Thiru. Vi.Ka. Nagar had maintained that the boy swooned at the prayer meeting.  On Thursday, officials including Chief Educational Officer Manoharan went to the school and analysed the CCTV footage.

“It has revealed that Jai Singh had given corporal punishment for the class 10 student Narendran for coming late. Along with some other students he was asked to do 'duck walk’ which he did for some distance and then collapsed,” an official involved with the inquiry told this paper.

The officials immediately suspended physical education teacher Jai Singh.
 The district education officials said they will also initiate action against the headmaster.

“We have given instruction umpteen times not to give any corporal punishment to students inside the classrooms and the school campus. Yet some schools are still practising it. We will reissue the circular again directing the schools to do away the practice,” an official said.