HC awards Rs 3.75 lakh compensation to dead boy's parents

The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Government to pay a compensation of Rs 3.75 lakh to the parents of a five year old boy, whose death shrouded in mystery and ordered for a fresh probe into the incident.
Passing the orders recently, Justice S Manikumar directed that the government pay the compensation within a month and the State's Home Secretary to appoint an officer in the rank of Superintendent of police to investigate the cause of death of five-year-old P Suresh and submit a report to the jurisdictional court in Villupuram district within two months of this order.

The boy, studying in kindergarten class in Little Flower Higher Secondary School of Chinna Salem went missing on December 21, 1999 and his body was found in a well at Ottanparai village, about 36 kms away from the school.
The father of the boy, A Pavadi, in his petition submitted that his son could have died suspectedly by falling into a open sump in the school premises.
He alleged that the school authorities could not give convincing replies on his son's disapparance and police also failed to undertake proper investigation.
The Judge directed the Home Secretary to find out if there was any incriminating evidence against the school authorities or any other person including police officers and initiate suitable action.

Justice Manikumar observed that there was adequate evidence that the boy was a student of Little Flower Higher Secondary School and on the fateful day he was seen by others in the school, though the management submitted that the petitioner's son was not studying there.
The Judge while flaying the school authorities for filing an affidavit that the deceased boy was not at all student of their school, in his order said "this court wants to state that one may have doubt as to whether the God exists or not, but this court believes the conscience of a person if he has is the real God."

Pointing out to the lethargic way of the investigation , the judge said "there is no reason why the investigating officer having recorded that there is an existence of the sump in the school, which is now denied by the school has not proceeded to find out as to how the dead body was missing from there.