15- year-old boy found dead in school well near Tirupattur town

A Class XI student of a government aided school was found dead in a closed well within the school campus at Kothur village near Natrampalli town in Tirupattur on Sunday.

The student has been identified as C. Mugilan, 15, a native of Kothur village. Initial inquiry revealed that Mugilan is the youngest child of Chinnathambi, a farmer, and had three sisters. He joined the school in class IX and stayed in the campus hostel, as his house was distant from the school.

Police said it was on August 1, class teachers found that Mugilan did not attend classes for the day. Subsequently, school authorities enquired with his parents on his whereabouts. However, parents told them that he did not come home.

Following a complaint by Chinnathambi, a case was registered by Tirupattur Town police. Special teams were formed to locate him. On Sunday, police inspected the school campus with a sniffer dog. They identified the body of the student in the well, which was closed with an iron grill. “We are also conducting an inquiry into the incident with school authorities. We are investigating it,” R. Punniyakotti, Chief Educational Officer (CEO), Tirupattur, told The Hindu. 

As news spread, family members and relatives gathered in front of the school and demanded the arrest of school authorities for negligence. They blocked Tirupattur - Dharmapuri High Road, but police pacified the agitated crowd, assuring them that the cause of death will be identified.

The body was sent to Government Taluk Hospital in Tirupattur town for postmortem. A medical team from Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore was assigned to conduct it. A probe is underway.

(Assistance for those with suicidal thoughts is available in TN’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050).