A Scheduled Caste (SC) boy of Nanguneri, who was in the news last August after being assaulted by three intermediate caste students, has scored 469 marks out of 600 in the Class XII examination. The victim of caste violence, Chinnadurai, had given his examinations with the help of scribes as his right hand, which was operated on after the attack, is yet to heal completely. He wants to pursue a bachelor’s degree in commerce and aspires to become a chartered accountant.
He scored a 94 in computer applications, 93 in English, 85 in accountancy, 84 in commerce, 71 in Tamil and 42 in economics.
“The unstinted support from the State government strengthened us a lot, and hence, I have scored this mark. I want to join B.Com as my ambition is to become a chartered accountant. My younger sister, who has passed Class IX, wants to become a doctor,” he told journalists.
Chinnadurai and his younger sister were assaulted at their house by three intermediate caste students.
During the investigation, police found the siblings were attacked by Chinnadurai’s classmates as his mother had complained against them to the teachers about the harassment meted out to him. With multiple cut injuries on both hands and on the body, the boy and his sister were under prolonged treatment in Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, where plastic surgeons from Chennai performed corrective surgical procedures to make his fingers function normally. He had to write his quarterly examination in September last at the hospital with the help of scribes.
Fearing more attacks, the victim’s mother, an anganwadi worker, appealed to the district administration to transfer her son to a safer school, and he was subsequently admitted in St. Xavier’s Higher Secondary School, Palayamkottai, on December 6. His younger sister was admitted to Mary Sargent Higher Secondary School, also in Palayamkottai.
Besides transferring her to the anganwadi at Reddiyarpatti on the outskirts of Palayamkottai in November last, the government provided the victim’s mother a free house. It also announced that the victims’ educational expenses would be borne by the State.
