In the Rouvanjit Rawla suicide case, the principal and three other teachers of La Martiniere For Boys school in Kolkata were given a clean chit by a lower court on Friday. They had been accused of abetting Rawla's suicide.
Class 8 student, Rawla, had committed suicide on February 12, 2010, after which the family had accused the school principal Sunirmal Chakravarti and teachers, LG Gunion, David Ryon and Partha Dutta, of persecuting and physically assaulting their son that drove him to suicide. All four had been arrested on October 4, 2010 and were later granted bail. On Friday, the 3rd fast track court at Kolkata dismissed the case, as "there was no material to prove any charge".
All four had been chargesheeted for abetting the suicide.
"We always knew that our teachers were not guilty and hence stood by them. We had faith in the country's legal system. We understand that parents who lose a child are bound to become uncontrollably emotional, but before pinning an allegation they should weigh various factors and should think with their heads and not hearts," said Suprito Dhar, secretary of the school.
{{/usCountry}}"We always knew that our teachers were not guilty and hence stood by them. We had faith in the country's legal system. We understand that parents who lose a child are bound to become uncontrollably emotional, but before pinning an allegation they should weigh various factors and should think with their heads and not hearts," said Suprito Dhar, secretary of the school.
{{/usCountry}}The student's father, Ajay Rawla, however, could not be reached.
An inquiry in June 2010 by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had found the school and the teachers guilty and had recommended suspension of the accused. The commission had also criticised the delay in the arrests.
Earlier, the 175-year-old elite school's image was sullied after a teacher Sanjay Smart was arrested for extorting a laptop computer from a student. Smart is currently in jail.