Kallakurichi Riot: Villagers return stolen items from school fearing police action

The Kallakurichi police on Friday said that the residents of the Kaniyamoor are returning the stolen items after the police department made a public announcement asking villagers to return the stolen items to the school.

Kallakurichi(Tamil Nadu): The villagers of Kaniyamoor in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi district returned all the stolen items on Friday, following a violent protest that broke out in the premises of a private school at Chinna Salem in the district on July 17 following the death of a class XII girl student. This was done against the backdrop of the revenue authorities on July 20 making a public announcement to return the stolen items or face stringent action.

With the Kallakurichi police department urging the locals to return the items they had taken from a private school during the protest, the villagers on Thursday night placed these items on the premises of a nearby temple, probably fearing legal actions by police."The locals returned articles such as desks and benches, water purifiers, kitchen appliances, chairs, tables, ceiling fans, and kitchen items like grinders, and LPG cylinders, from the school, said police. Amid the increasing unrest in Tamil Nadu over the Kallakurichi incident, Kallakurichi District Collector Sravan Kumar Jatavath on Friday inspected the school campus.

Earlier on July 17, the villagers ransacked the private school and protested demanding justice for a Class 12 girl student girl (Srimathi) who allegedly died by suicide. The protest turned violent and several people including senior police officers injured as protesters ransacked the residential school. Around 15 buses including police vehicles were set on fire by the protesters.

Over 400 people were arrested regarding the issue. Sources said, "14 pairs of gold earrings were handed over by a resident who claimed that he had come across the items on the premises of the private school to the Chinna Salem police station." After the public announcement, the residents restored the items belonging to the school fearing action from the police.