Kallakurichi violence: Villagers point at outsiders, mysterious WhatsApp group

The violence at the site of protest seeking justice for the 17-year-old schoolgirl who died on the premises of Sri Sakthi Matriculation school near Kaniyamoor in the Kallakurichi district of Tamil Nadu, has raised concern in the state.

On Monday, the Madras High Court observed that the violence at the site was organised and not reactionary in nature.

Watch: Kallakurichi student death: Madras HC orders fresh autopsy

To understand how the protest turned violent, The Federal spoke to a cross-section of people involved in the protest, including former students, local villagers and policemen.

Outsiders involved

It could be understood to an extent if anger of former students, local villagers — coupled with the campaign in the social media platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter — led to the violence at the protest site. But, according to the residents of Chinna Salem, near where violence happened, lot of people involved in the protest and the subsequent violence were not locals.

Also Read: Kallakurichi schoolgirl’s death: Madras HC orders second post-mortem

“We saw hundreds of people coming on bikes and marching towards the school. We could not recognise any of them. Even if they were from the neighbouring villages, we would have definitely recognised them. But, they all seemed outsiders. Most of them were between the ages of 20 and 30 and were dressed up in black uniforms,” said John Baasha, a resident of Amsakulam near Chinna Salem.

Baasha said that when police showed them the photographs and videos of the people in the violence, nobody could recognise them.

Mysterious WhatsApp group

The villagers of Kaniyamoor, where the Sri Sakthi Matriculation School is located, informed that they were added to a mysterious WhatsApp group named ‘Justice for S*******’. The call for protestors to assemble on Sunday was decided on the same group.

“Why I call it a mysterious WhatsApp group is because I am not in Kaniyamoor village anymore and I don’t have any connection with the school. Neither I studied there nor do I have friends who studied in the school. Also, I don’t know the person who added me to the group and I have no clue who created the group. Even after leaving the group, they added me for no reason,” said a 25-year-old youth, who did not wish to be identified.

When The Federal spoke to another youth, who was added to the same group and who had left the group, he said that he did not know anything about the violence and he had nothing to do with it and disconnected the call. Later, he called up and said he was worried about whatever was happening in the village.

“I don’t know how they got my number. I studied in a government school in Kallakuruchi and now I am working in a private establishment in Chennai. I don’t want to get into any trouble,” the youth said.

One of the groups that tried to organise a protest on Sunday was that of school’s former students. The group tried to assemble alumni students, but it’s not clear how far it was able to succeed. A 24-year-old youth, resident of Kaniyamoor village and friend of a former student, said that former students had also assembled but the number was less than 100.

“I was with them. Not many alumni students had turned up for the protest. As far as I know, they did not plan anything and the moment the crowd started to vandalize the school, these former students distanced themselves from the violence,” he said, not wanting to be named.

Anger against school management

Local residents also said that anger towards the school could also have led to the violence. “A lot of people who have been affected by the school management also turned up at the protest site. I saw a woman, who is my relative, shouting in the crowd. When asked about the reason, she said the school management has not been giving the Transfer Certificate to her son and has been making her run from pillar to post,” Thanigachalam, a resident of Chinna Salem said.

She was not the only woman who was upset with the school management. A lot of villagers from in and around Kaniyamoor have been upset with the school management’s attitude towards the children and their parents.

“They don’t respect children if they don’t pay the fees on time. Even if the fees is paid on time, they torture the children like anything to get marks. Because that’s their ultimate aim. They want the children to study all the time and the pressure students undergo is immense. That’s why I removed my children from school after a long fight. Because, you see, they don’t let you leave the school that easily,” said a parent who had removed his son from the school around four years ago.

Intelligence personnel on the ground said that there was not any trigger point for the protestors to indulge in violence. “People from neighbouring districts mixed up with the crowd,” an intelligence personnel said adding that the anger over the school management and the mob mentality led to the violence.

“We are trying to find the root cause of it and trying to narrow down on who created those mysterious WhatsApp groups,” the intelligence personnel said, adding that the fast-spreading rumours and misinformation led to the large gathering at the site.

When asked about this, Kallakurichi Superintendent of Police S Selvakumar refused to comment but said that all the rioters will be arrested. He also warned action against those circulating fake videos in the WhatsApp group.

Also read: Violence is against development, says TN CM Stalin

While the opposition AIADMK slammed the DMK government’s intelligence failure and breakdown of law and order situation in the state, the state government maintained that it would bring everybody before the rule of law.

Arrests made

Meanwhile, on Monday, police picked up 329 people suspected to have been involved in the violence and arrested 128 people, including 20 juveniles, involved in the violence. All arrested were booked under 15 sections, including Sections 435 (Mischief by fire or explosive Substance with intent to cause damage), 379 (Theft) of Indian Penal Code and few sections of Tamil Nadu Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act and were remanded in judicial custody.