Stephan Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod (SP)
Kasargod, Dec 17: The suicide in a lodge in this town by E P Shashidharan (52), principal of Tagore Vidyaniketan government higher secondary school in Taliparamba has given rise to controversy and speculations over reasons which forced the teacher to end his life.
It is learnt that Shashidharan has left behind a suicide note in which he has mentioned that he had decided to commit suicide because of harassment by a MLA and some teachers. The policemen said that he had mentioned the names of Taliparamba MLA,James Mathew, and some colleagues from the school where he was working, as those responsible for his death.
The letter says that apart from suffering harassment at the hands of the above persons, the deceased teacher also received threats from them. In view of this, investigation into these allegations has been handed over to Srikantapura police station in Kannur district.
It maybe recalled that Shashidharan's body was found hanging in a room of a lodge he had hired here,on Monday afternoon.
In the meanwhile, pressure is mounting on the government to conduct in-depth investigation into the role of the MLA in the principal's death. It is said that a sum of two crore rupees had been sanctioned for constructing the building of the above school out of the local area development funds of the MLA, and the teachers and the MLA were pressurizing Shashidharan to pay 20 percent of this amount as commission to the MLA. It is being said that Shashidharan was under tremendous pressure as he was not agreeable to pay this commission.