APNEWS

The Towshik Case: A Mother’s Fight for Justice Ends in Tragedy

Eleven‑year‑old Shaik Sayyad Towshik was found dead in a residential school hostel on Feb 14, 2026, sparking a dispute over whether it was suicide or homicide. After the Andhra Pradesh High Court ordered a new investigation in April, Towshik’s mother Maulabi died following a suicide attempt on Sep 10, 2026, intensifying calls for answers.

By Open Vaartha Desk · 2026-09-13

What happened

TL;DR

A fresh High Court‑ordered probe into 11‑year‑old Towshik’s death follows his mother’s suicide and death, leaving the case unresolved.

Key points

Towshik was found hanging in a hostel bathroom on 14 Feb 2026; police initially ruled suicide
Parents alleged assault and named the school correspondent’s son and hostel warden as suspects
AP High Court ordered a new investigation, CCTV preservation, and forensic analysis in April 2026
Mother Maulabi protested for months, attempted suicide on 10 Sep 2026 and died on 12 Sep 2026

Kanigiri/Singarayakonda, Prakasam district: The death of 11-year-old Shaik Sayyad Towshik, a Class VI student from Kanigiri, has evolved from a child’s mysterious death inside a residential school hostel into a deeply troubling case involving allegations of foul play, questions over the original police investigation, judicial intervention and, now, the death of the boy’s mother while she was campaigning for answers.Towshik died on February 14, 2026, at the Sri Chaitanya Navodaya School and residential hostel in Mulaguntapadu, under Singarayakonda mandal. The initial police investigation treated the death as suicide. His parents, however, rejected that conclusion and alleged that their son had been assaulted and killed.Seven months later, the dispute remains unresolved. The Andhra Pradesh High Court has ordered a fresh investigation and directed authorities to preserve and examine crucial evidence. Meanwhile, Towshik’s mother, Maulabi, who continued protesting outside the institution and publicly demanding justice, attempted suicide on September 10 and died while undergoing treatment two days later.Her death has brought renewed attention to the unanswered questions surrounding her son's death.A child dies inside a residential schoolTowshik was an 11-year-old Class VI student from Kanigiri who was staying at the residential school in Singarayakonda.On February 14, he was found hanging inside a hostel bathroom. The circumstances surrounding his death immediately became a matter of dispute.The police initially concluded that Towshik had died by suicide and said that they had not found sufficiently strong evidence to establish murder.His parents did not accept that explanation.They alleged that their son had been assaulted and murdered and subsequently presented as having died by suicide. Among those they accused were the school correspondent's son and the hostel warden. These allegations have not been established as facts, and the accused have not been convicted of any offence.The family's concerns eventually reached the Andhra Pradesh High Court.Why did the family reject the suicide theory?The parents questioned several aspects of the circumstances in which Towshik was found dead.One issue raised before the court concerned the physical circumstances of the alleged hanging, including questions about the height and positioning of the hanger. The family also pointed to what they believed were inconsistencies in the handling of their son's body and the post-mortem process.They argued that the investigation had too quickly settled on suicide without adequately examining the possibility of homicide.The family further alleged that local police had failed to investigate the case impartially and had attempted to support the suicide theory.These claims are allegations made by the family; they should not be treated as proven findings.High Court intervention changes the course of the investigationThe case took a significant turn in April 2026.The Andhra Pradesh High Court expressed serious concern about the manner in which the investigation had been handled. The court observed that the parents' concerns could not simply be dismissed as baseless.The court ordered that the investigation be transferred to an officer of at least the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police.It also issued directions concerning evidence collection. Police were instructed to obtain and preserve CCTV footage from the school and surrounding areas, including footage from nearby houses, commercial establishments and hospitals covering the relevant period.The court also directed that mobile phones of several people connected with the investigation and school be seized and that call records and messages be subjected to forensic examination.The court questioned the handling of the post-mortem process and other aspects of the initial investigation. It further directed that no final report or charge sheet be filed without the court's permission.The intervention was significant because it meant that the original conclusion could no longer simply be treated as the final word on what happened to the child.A fresh investigation beginsFollowing the High Court's directions, the State appointed Nellore Additional Superintendent of Police Ch. Sowjanya as the new investigating officer.In April, the new investigating officer visited the school and hostel where Towshik died. She interacted with the school management, teachers and hostel warden and began examining the circumstances surrounding the child's death.This fresh investigation is particularly important because the central question remains unresolved:Did Towshik die by suicide, as the initial investigation concluded, or did someone else cause his death?At present, the available reporting does not establish the second possibility as fact. What it does establish is that the High Court considered the family's concerns serious enough to warrant a fresh and more rigorous investigation.The mother's videos and public campaignFor Towshik's mother, the case did not end with the initial police conclusion.Maulabi repeatedly demanded that authorities investigate her son's death and determine what actually happened inside the hostel.She also released videos expressing her distress and making allegations against people connected with the school. In public statements, she maintained that she did not believe her son had died by suicide and continued to demand action against those she believed were responsible.Her campaign became increasingly visible as the months passed.She also demanded action concerning the hostel's alleged lack of proper permissions. Reports from September say that she had been protesting outside the school and demanding that authorities take action against the management.Her repeated appeals were not merely about punishment. At their core was a demand for an answer to a basic question: what happened to her child?September 10: The mother's suicide attemptOn September 10, Maulabi was again protesting outside the school.According to local reports, she consumed agricultural pesticide while sitting at the protest site. A woman home guard noticed what was happening and intervened, preventing her from consuming more.She was immediately taken to hospital and subsequently received further treatment after her condition became serious.Reports said that during her protest she expressed anguish that several months had passed without, in her view, justice being delivered in her son's case.The incident dramatically changed the public attention surrounding the Towshik case.What had been a disputed death of a schoolboy became a tragedy involving another death within his immediate family.The mother's deathMaulabi's condition subsequently deteriorated.On September 12, reports said that she died while undergoing treatment. Prajasakti reported that the approximately 40-year-old mother died while receiving treatment after the suicide attempt. Other local reports said she had been shifted from Ongole for advanced treatment before her death.Her death has intensified calls from relatives and supporters for the authorities to complete the investigation into Towshik's death and publicly explain its findings.The tragedy is particularly painful because Maulabi's final public struggle was directly connected to her son's death. She had spent months demanding that the circumstances surrounding his death be properly examined.What remains unanswered?The case raises several questions that only a complete investigation can answer.1. What exactly happened inside the hostel bathroom?The most fundamental question is how Towshik died and whether the physical evidence is consistent with the initial suicide conclusion.2. Was the crime scene properly investigated?The High Court's directions concerning CCTV, forensic examination and evidence preservation indicate that the handling of the case required closer scrutiny.3. Were there signs of assault?The parents have alleged that their son was assaulted before his death. Whether there is forensic evidence supporting or disproving that allegation must be determined through the investigation rather than public speculation.4. Was the initial police investigation adequate?The High Court's criticism of the investigation and its decision to appoint a new officer show that the court had serious concerns about the earlier process.5. What will the fresh investigation conclude?This remains the most important unanswered question.The new investigation must establish the facts independently, examine the physical and digital evidence, and determine whether the original suicide conclusion should stand or whether criminal responsibility lies with someone else.A case that demands facts, not speculationThe Towshik case has generated strong emotions, particularly following the death of his mother.But precisely because the allegations are so serious, the case must ultimately be decided by evidence.The parents' allegations of murder deserve to be investigated thoroughly. At the same time, allegations against named individuals should not be treated as proof of guilt unless investigators and, ultimately, the courts establish their responsibility.The High Court's intervention provides an important framework for that process.The preservation of CCTV footage, forensic examination, scrutiny of communications and a fresh investigation by an ASP-rank officer are all intended to answer questions that remained unresolved after the initial investigation.A mother's final questionTowshik's death was the beginning of a seven-month struggle for his mother.She did not accept the explanation given for her son's death. She protested outside the institution, released videos, approached authorities and supported the legal challenge that eventually resulted in a fresh investigation.Her death has now added another layer of tragedy to the case.Two deaths have left one family devastated. But the central question remains the same:What really happened to 11-year-old Towshik on February 14, 2026?The answer should come not from rumours, social-media claims or competing narratives, but from a transparent investigation supported by forensic evidence, CCTV, witness testimony, digital records and the findings of the competent authorities and courts.Until that process is complete, the murder allegation remains an allegation and the original suicide conclusion remains subject to the fresh investigation ordered after the family's challenge.For Towshik's family, however, the demand is simple: they want to know the truth about how their child died.And after his mother's death, the responsibility to establish that truth now rests even more heavily on the investigating authorities.