The death of 14-year-old Cherian M Sangma, a Class 9 student of Loyola Secondary School, Williamnagar, East Garo Hills, has cast a pall of gloom in the region with most still in disbelief over the tragedy.
The Jesuit Education Council, under whom the school falls, suspended the principal, Fr Melwyn Fernandes, over the incident.
“The untimely death of Cherian is heartrending and the pain of the parents and relatives is unfathomable. The council sincerely regrets the loss of life and is committed to the cause of truth and justice,” it said while condoling the death.
The teenager was, apparently, one of several students who were punished by the principal for missing their homework. Fr Melwyn then ordered them to carry heavy logs across the school campus and, while carrying out this punishment, Cherian was crushed to death.
Anger directed at the principal boiled over yesterday, with Fr Melwyn forced to seek shelter in Williamnagar Police Station as angry residents called for his head. The announcement of a magisterial inquiry, ordered by the Deputy Commissioner, helped cool the situation down.
The grieving parents of Cherian, meanwhile, have filed a police complaint against the principal. In their complaint, the parents accused the principal of carrying out corporal punishment against the students. The father of the victim is an employee in the Williamnagar Civil Hospital, the same place where the lifeless body of his son was brought after the incident.
“In the name of punishment, some of the boys were made to carry heavy logs from one place to another despite their protests that the logs were too heavy for them to carry. The principal refused to listen to them and it is at this time that my son was crushed under the weight of the log as he was unable to bear the weight,” said the father in the FIR.
Anger and condemnation for the avoidable incident have poured in from all quarters of society, including pressure groups like the ADE and GSU.
Candlelight vigils in Williamnagar, Rongjeng and Dainadubi today evening to show solidarity with the family of the victim and to demand justice.
Schools in Williamnagar, meanwhile, remained closed today in mourning.
Friends and family members also paid their last respects to Cherian, who was taken yesterday to his village in Rongjeng.
