Meanwhile, Natrayan, grandfather of the victim, fell at the feet of Kodaikanal RDO S Murugesan at Kookal, where a meeting was convened to convince the locals to send their children to school, seeking justice for Prithika. Only six students attended the primary school in Kookal on Tuesday.

The RDO said it was needless to restrict students from attending school at Kookal village while the incident was reported at Pachalur.

Moreover, talks were convened with bus operators, who struck work seeking the arrest of the accused in the case and later they were pacified to resume services, the RDO said.

While Thandikudi police were yet to achieve a breakthrough in the case, the victim’s relatives on Monday decided not to send their children to school in Kookal citing unsafe conditions. They also sought a CB-CID probe into the case and arrest the culprits behind such a serious crime, sources said.