Tamil Nadu: Harassed For College Fees, Dalit Student Dies By Suicide

In Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district, a 19-year-old physiotherapy student died by suicide at her house in Amritha Nagar on Wednesday, March 30. The deceased identified as Subhashini was a first-year student at Sir Issac Newton College of Physiotherapy, Anthanapettai. Her family and friends staged a protest creating a blockade on Nagore-Nagapattinam road demanding action against the college management on March 31. The family alleged that the college management subjected her to caste-based harassment over non-payment of fees.

*Trigger warning: The article contains details about an incident of self-harm.

Reports suggest that the student’s parents—Subramani, a plumber and Chithra, a contract sanitary worker in the municipality, were unable to pay her fees on time. Subhashini was reportedly depressed owing to the non-payment of her fees which pushed her to take this extreme step. However, in wake of Subramani's death, her parents have accused the college management of harassing her and sought police action against the institute.

Dalit student suicide case: Teen harassed over fees

Arivazhagan, a relative of the deceased student was quoted saying that the annual fee of the college was Rs 65,000 and the family had paid only Rs 15,000. The relative added that the management had been informed that they will pay the remaining amount soon, yet the student was not allowed inside the class for three days a week before her death. The relative added that the management even abused her with casteist slurs and said that she’d be humiliated further if she returned to classes before the full fees was paid.

Suggested Reading: Caste And Education: Why Education Must Be Anti-Caste?

The relative also added that one of the deceased’s uncles, who teaches at the college, attempted to intervene. He questioned management about why they did not approach him instead of publicly humiliating the student.

A case was registered at the Nagore Police station under CrPC Section 174 (unnatural death) and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Reports suggest that the police eventually managed to pacify the angry protestors and sent the deceased student’s body for a post-mortem in Nagapattinam’s government hospital.

Deputy Superintendent of Police P Saravanan told the media that no arrests have been made yet. He added that the case is under probe and that they will take action as per the findings of the investigation.

Another report mentioned that hundreds of students also protested demanding justice for Subashini. During the protest, a bus parked inside the college campus was damaged and police had to be deployed to get the situation under control.

Assistance for suicidal thoughts available:

TN Health Helpline: 104

Feature Image: NDTV