Church backs principal in La Mart boy's suicide case

The Church of North India (CNI)'s Kolkata Diocese, which runs La Martinere School for Boys here, today claimed the caning of Rouvanjit Rawla by the Principal had no connection with the student's suicide.
"Taking into account all that has happened, we would request the media not to link the caning of Rouvanjit with his suicide," executive member of the CNI Synod and Diocesese of Kolkata Suman Biswas said from Delhi.
Biswas said that after Rouvanjit was caned by Principal Sunirmal Chakravarthy on February 8, he went home as a normal child and even told his vice principal in a 'laughing spirit' that he could not be detained as the principal had already punished him for the offence.
Rouvajit did not come to school for three days after the caning and arrived on the fourth day with some stink bombs, Biswas said. "If he was so much in deep anguish, pain and humiliation after his caning, do you think he would have played this kind of trick again in the class?"
He said Rouvanjit's post-mortem report, as quoted in a section of the media today, did not link the suicide with the caning.
While apologising for the caning of Rouvanjit by the school principal, Biswas said it was done as a disciplinary action and not intended to hurt him physically.
He said corporal punishment, however, would not be practised in any of the 32 educational institutions run by the CNI Kolkata diocese.
He alleged some people were trying to use the incident for their own benefit but declined to identify them. "I would ask these people to leave their personal considerations and stand behind the bereaved family of Rouvanjit."
CNI Bishop of Kolkata Rev Ashok Biswas was not available for comment as he was abroad.


I think the media has blown up this issue out of proportion. While the death of a young student, whatever the cause, is a tragedy - death by suicide is beyond imagination. Caning must have been going on in the institution since its inception but this is the first suicide attributed to caning. A deeper probe from the point of view of the poor boy's temperament must be conducted if we wish to post-mortem the event at all. Of late the media seems to be after scalps of the famous and mighty and are sensationalizing incidents so that they can take the story forward as they wish. More maturity is called for from all sides.

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