A Class 9 student of a school in Kudige in Karnataka’s Kodagu district was found dead in a washroom on campus on Saturday, reported The New Indian Express. The 14-year-old boy’s parents have alleged that he was murdered.

A case has been registered against school Vice Principal Seema, computer teacher Govindaraja, Kannada teacher GK Manjappa, administrative officer D Mathew and warden Sunil based on a complaint filed by the boy’s father, who works as a hockey coach at the school. The postmortem examination report is expected to come on Monday, reported The Times of India.

In his complaint, the boy’s father accused the two teachers and the two staff members of harassing the boy. When he took up the matter with the vice principal, she allegedly ignored it.

According to a statement released by the school, the boy had been “counselled by teachers for an act of indiscipline” on Saturday. He was found unconscious in the washroom later that day.

On Sunday, the boy’s family members and volunteers of Kodava Samaj, an organisation for the welfare of Kodava people, staged a protest outside the hospital where the boy’s body was kept, demanding police action. The family alleged that the school authorities had sent the boy’s body to a government hospital without informing the local police.

MLCs Sunil Subramani and Veena Achaiah, and Kushalnagar Superintendent of Police Rajendra Prasad tried to pacify the protestors. Subramani then called up Mysuru-Kodagu MP Prathap Simha, who took up the matter with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Subramani conveyed Sitharaman’s message that action would be taken against the culprits.

Following this, a case was registered against the school authorities. Prasad said the school management told the police that a poisonous solution used in the lab was found inside the washroom where the boy was found.