The parents of Lia Lakshmi, who died under suspicious circumstances at St Mary’s Matriculation School in Villupuram, have petitioned the district collector, alleging foul play in her death and requesting a CB-CID investigation. The father, K. Palanivel, accused the school of fabricating claims that his daughter accidentally fell into a septic tank, citing missing CCTV footage and inconsistencies in the school’s account. Facing threats to drop their pursuit of justice, the family has also sought government protection, intensifying demands for accountability and a thorough probe into the case.
Palanivel is a contract worker at the e-service centre in Vikravandi, and his wife is Sivashankari. Their daughter, three-and-a-half-year-old Lia Lakshmi, attended LKG at the St. Mary’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School at Vikravandi in Villupuram district.
In a petition submitted to the Villupuram Superintendent of Police, Palanivel expressed suspicions that Lia Lakshmi may have been murdered within the school. He claimed the school management was attempting to cover up the crime by fabricating the story that she accidentally fell into the septic tank.
Palanivel pointed out that the school has 37 CCTV cameras, yet the management only provided footage from 32 of them, withholding the remaining five. He stated that the footage submitted shows a teacher carrying his daughter toward the septic tank at 2:14 PM on the day of the incident, only to be seen carrying her back in the opposite direction shortly thereafter.
He further alleged that the school tampered with the CCTV footage that was not immediately submitted to the authorities and that staff members were involved in concealing the truth, creating a false narrative that his daughter’s death was accidental.
Palanivel calls for the police and school authorities to present all CCTV recordings to the court, as he believes there are efforts to destroy evidence. Disillusioned with the ongoing investigation, he has requested the case be transferred to the CB-CID to ensure a thorough examination of the circumstances surrounding his daughter’s death and bring the responsible parties to justice. He also reiterated his plea for government protection, citing the threats his family has received.
Sivashankari, speaking to the press, said, “My daughter reads way better, but she won’t write, and the teacher had beaten her for that. Something happened to my child. They should have immediately taken her to the hospital, but instead, they kept her in the school and created drama, saying, ‘My daughter died after falling into the septic tank’, and ‘She died because of feeding food.’ The teacher claimed that when she took attendance at 2:00 PM, my daughter was present and said she needed to go to the restroom. Afterwards, she went missing. They searched for her, and a driver, using a torchlight, noticed a white shoe, then they searched with a stick, found something, and then found her. But this is not the truth—it’s a lie. This case should be transferred to the CB-CID, and they should investigate to uncover what happened.”
Sivashankari expressed further suspicion, stating, “She was wearing red shoes and white bottom, but the driver claimed that when they used a torchlight, they saw a white shoe, then they searched with a stick. This raised our doubts. Additionally, if a child had fallen into a septic tank, there should have been mud or water on her, but nothing was there. But when the police showed the photos of the shoes today, one was black and the other was white—why is that? One shoe appears like she slipped into the septic tank, while the other is white. Also, my daughter’s ribbon had blood on it, and there were two bloodstains on her shirt. I could smell bleach powder from it. How could there be a bleach smell in the septic tank?”
சிறுமி மரணத்தில் சந்தேகம் – பெற்றோர் புகார் சிறுமியின் ஆடையில் ரத்தக் கறை.!#Viluppuram #Child #Death #School #Police #Teachers #NewsTamil #NewsTamil24x7 pic.twitter.com/yFksiY3W9W
— News Tamil 24×7 (@NewsTamilTV24x7) January 9, 2025
Accused Granted Bail
On 10 January 2024, the Madras High Court granted bail to the correspondent, principal, and teacher of St. Mary’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Vikravandi, Villupuram district.
Justice A.D. Jagadish Chandira granted bail to Sister A. Emelda, Sister A. Dominic Mary, and teacher A. Angel, following a request from senior counsel Rev. Fr. A. Xavier Arulraj. The petitioners had been in custody since 4 January 2025. Arulraj informed the court that the school management was willing to offer ₹5 lakh as ex-gratia, in addition to ₹3 lakh from the State government, to the child’s family.
The judge ordered the school correspondent to provide a demand draft in favour of the child’s father to the trial court, which was then instructed to hand it over to the parents. Upon being released on bail, the petitioners were directed to stay in Chennai for a week and report daily to the Mylapore police station, in addition to adhering to all other standard bail conditions.
(With Inputs From TOI)
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