Police have registered a case against a headmaster of a government-aided higher secondary school near Thoothukudi after he was accused of insulting students observing Dussehra fasting rituals.
According to the complaint, more than 30 students at Shanmugasundaram Nadar Higher Secondary School in Aathur were wearing garlands and sacred threads as part of the Mutharamman temple Dussehra observance at Kulasekaranpattinam. The headmaster, identified as Ranjith Singh (58), allegedly asked them to remove the items.
The students reportedly refused, after which the headmaster is alleged to have removed one student’s garland himself and assaulted the student. The matter later reached parents through the students.
Following this, over 100 parents and members of a Hindu organisation gathered outside the school, staged a sit-in and later blocked the Thoothukudi–Tiruchendur road, affecting traffic. Police held talks with the protesters, and the headmaster apologised in their presence.
Despite the apology, parents filed a complaint seeking legal action. Police booked the headmaster for allegedly deliberately insulting religious beliefs, and also registered cases against 90 people for participating in an unauthorised road blockade.
