By the following evening, the 16-year-old was dead.
P Nijanthi, from Thottappanayakkanur near Usilampatti in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu, had completed Class 10 in her village and joined the Government Kallar Higher Secondary School at nearby Poochipatti for Class 11. But she did not want to continue there. After attending school for about 20 days, she stopped going.
On August 24, Thavamani took her daughter to a school in Usilampatti where they were asked to pay Rs 5,000. Thavamani did not have the amount on her then and said she would return in two days.
While waiting at the old bus stand, someone from their village suggested they try the Government Model Higher Secondary School in Usilampatti, where the admission expense might be lower. Mother and daughter went there the very same day.
What happened inside the headmistress’s room is now at the centre of a criminal case.
According to Thavamani’s complaint, recorded in the FIR, the headmistress asked Nijanthi where she had studied Class 10 and then telephoned the head of her former school. When Nijanthi’s name was mentioned, the former head teacher, speaking over the phone on speaker mode, described her as disciplined and academically good.
As Thavamani spoke to the headmistress, she stood with her hands folded — a common gesture of deference in many institutional encounters. Nijanthi, watching her mother, tapped her hands down. The gesture lasted perhaps only a moment. But according to the complaint, the headmistress objected.
“Why? What is your problem if your mother answers with her hands folded?” she allegedly asked Nijanthi, before staring at her and allegedly speaking in an angry tone. Thavamani told police that the headmistress then accused her daughter of arrogance, suggesting that she must have behaved similarly in the past and that this was perhaps why she had been made to leave her earlier school. She then allegedly told the girl to “get out”.
In her complaint, Thavamani told police that she suspected the headmistress of the Government Model Higher Secondary School was responsible for her daughter’s death and asked for a thorough investigation and legal action.
That night, Usilampatti Taluk police registered a case under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), relating to police inquiry into an unnatural death. The investigation subsequently moved beyond that initial classification.
Police later booked the school headmistress, identified as Vimala Devi, under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for alleged abetment of suicide. On Sunday, investigators altered the FIR again and invoked provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, police said. Nijanthi was a Dalit student.
There are moments in a life that appear small to everyone except the person inhabiting them. For Nijanthi, police are now investigating whether the encounter at the school became such a moment.
Arun Janardhanan is an experienced and authoritative Tamil Nadu correspondent for The Indian Express. Based in the state, his reporting combines ground-level access with long-form clarity, offering readers a nuanced understanding of South India’s political, judicial, and cultural life - work that reflects both depth of expertise and sustained authority. Expertise Geographic Focus: As Tamil Nadu Correspondent focused on politics, crime, faith and disputes, Janardhanan has been also reporting extensively on Sri Lanka, producing a decade-long body of work on its elections, governance, and the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings through detailed stories and interviews. Key Coverage Areas: State Politics and Governance: Close reporting on the DMK and AIADMK, the emergence of new political actors such as actor Vijay’s TVK, internal party churn, Centre–State tensions, and the role of the Governor. Legal and Judicial Affairs: Consistent coverage of the Madras High Court, including religion-linked disputes and cases involving state authority and civil liberties. Investigations: Deep-dive series on landmark cases and unresolved questions, including the Tirupati encounter and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, alongside multiple investigative series from Tamil Nadu. Culture, Society, and Crisis: Reporting on cultural organisations, language debates, and disaster coverage—from cyclones to prolonged monsoon emergencies—anchored in on-the-ground detail. His reporting has been recognised with the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism. Beyond journalism, Janardhanan is also a screenwriter; his Malayalam feature film Aarkkariyam was released in 2021. ... Read More
