A 16-year-old female Grade 10 student from a popular school in Wennappuwa, who had been hospitalized for over three months following an alleged assault by two teachers, passed away on November 13 while receiving treatment at the Ragama Teaching Hospital.
The post-mortem examination revealed that her death was caused by bleeding in the brain as a result of the assault.
The two teachers involved, who were initially released on bail after being remanded, were re-arrested on November 14 and subsequently remanded until November 18, according to police.
The incident reportedly occurred when the student, along with another, took more than 20 minutes to return to the classroom. During an inquiry, the teachers admitted to police that they had physically assaulted her and made her kneel as punishment for providing conflicting explanations for the delay.
Following investigations by the Wennappuwa Police, the two teachers, aged 39 and 57, were arrested and presented in court. They were initially remanded and later released on bail on September 13.
The assault, which took place on August 9, resulted in the student being initially admitted to the Marawila Hospital, where she underwent surgery on her head. She was later transferred to the Colombo National Hospital for advanced treatment.
While undergoing treatment, police officers attempted three times to record her statement, but these efforts were unsuccessful due to her critical condition in the ICU. She was later transferred to the Ragama Hospital for physiotherapy, where she succumbed to her injuries on the night of November 13.
The student’s body was handed over to her relatives on the evening of November 15.
