Death of student at coaching centre: parents seek justice

Parents and relatives of Sayyed Toushik, a class-6 student, who reportedly died under suspicious circumstances at a private coaching centre in Singarayakonda on February 14, staged a protest in front of Collectorate in Ongole on Monday, demanding the arrest of the coaching centre management in the case.

Due to the protest, the traffic was held up for nearly three hours on both sides of the road. The police officials did not arrive at the spot for an hour. Later, a woman constable allegedly tried to drag away the deceased student’s mother, who was protesting in the spot. Local Dalit leaders opposed the police brutality and supported their agitation.

Meanwhile, SFI, RSU, and NSY student union leaders also came and supported them. Prakasam District Revenue Officer (DRO) China Obulesu and Ongole DSP Rayapati Srinivasa Rao met them. DSP said action will be taken against the accused based on the post-mortem report. He directed to remove Singarayakonda SI Mahendra from the case and appoint another officer for the investigation.

Meanwhile, the members of Parents Association of Andhra Pradesh (PAAP) demanded Education Minister and Commissioner of School Education to immediately intervene in the matter. They sought an impartial judicial inquiry or appointment of a special committee comprising high-ranking officials to probe the incident.

PAAP president S. Narahari said, “The administrators and responsible staff of the coaching centre should be arrested immediately and punished severely. The Deputy DEO should conduct an investigation and cancel the recognition of this coaching centre.”