AP high court directs forensic probe into boy’s death at school

Vijayawada: The high court on Tuesday directed Prakasam district police to conduct forensic examination into the suspicious death of an 11-year-old boy at Sri Chaitanya Navodaya School in Singarayakonda of Prakasam district.On Feb 14, Syed Toushiq was found hanging in his school washroom. Expressing doubts over the death of their son, Syed Ali and Md Moulibi moved the high court seeking a CBI probe. They alleged that warden Babji and the son of school correspondent Chaitanya assaulted Toushiq and killed him. They further alleged that the police are trying to show it as a case of suicide.The high court earlier directed the police to conduct the investigation with an officer not less than the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP). The high court further directed the police to preserve the CCTV footage in the school and also in the vicinity of the school.Arguing on behalf of the police, advocate general Dammalapati Srinivas said that an ASP-rank officer is investigating the case. He said that though the case was registered as suspicious death, the police alter the sections based on the findings of the investigation. Senior counsel Posani Venkateswarlu, who appeared for the school correspondent and his son, argued that there was no basis for the petitioner's allegations. He said that the boy was upset as his parents did not take him home for Sivarathri. Venkateswarlu sought forensic examination of call records of the boy's parents.Arguing on behalf of the parents, Thandava Yogesh said that the hanger in the washroom was below the height of the boy and there was no chance of suicide by hanging. He sought directions for detailed forensic examination of the crime scene. Considering the arguments on all sides, Justice Y Lakshmana Rao directed the police to conduct forensic examination of the crime scene and posted the matter for further hearing after three weeks.