A second-year student of a private polytechnic here died after he was allegedly beaten up by a teacher of the institution on Wednesday, sparking protests from students who blocked the Villupuram-Tiruchy NH.
The student, identified as D. Prabhakaran hailing from Govindasalai in Puducherry, was rushed to the Villupuram government medical college hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The teacher was arrested. According to police sources, Prabhakaran, a student of Automobile Engineering in Ezhumalai Polytechnic, was slapped severely by Gunasekaran for failing to answer a question in class.
The teacher then pushed him out of the classroom and Prabhakaran fell to the ground and suffered injuries. The police said Prabhakaran suffered seizures after his head hit the ground and fainted. The post-mortem report is awaited, they added.
However, students alleged that Prabhakaran was bleeding through the nose and mouth and that the death was caused by the assault.
Tension mounted after the students blocked the Villupuram-Tiruchy NH demanding the police arrest the accused. Though a team of senior police and revenue officials, led by Villupuram RDO R. Priya, rushed to the spot and pacified the agitators, members of the Puratchikara Manava Munnani, amongst the protestors, raised the pitch. The police then resorted to lathicharge.