Special Team To Probe Kannur Student Death
Keralam health minister Veena George on Monday termed the death of RL Nithin Raj, a student of Ancharakandy Dental College in Kannur district, as “shocking and deeply painful” and assured that strict legal action will be taken against those responsible.
“Alongside the police investigation, the Keralam University of Health Sciences has also initiated an inquiry committee. All necessary legal action will be firmly ensured,” George said.
“The depth of grief and loss faced by the family is immense. Caste-based abuse and harassment must not be allowed in campuses or anywhere in Kerala under any circumstances,” the minister said in a post on social media.
Alleging lapses in the police investigation, activists of the Keralam Students Union (KSU) today organised a protest march to the Anjarakandy Dental College. Visuals from the campus showed KSU activists who staged a sit-in protest being forcibly removed by the police.
Congress MP K Suresh termed the incident as an “institutional murder.”
“The suicide of BDS student Nithin Raj at a private medical college in Kannur is a serious matter. It is an institutional murder. The harassment and caste-based discrimination faced by a Dalit student in Keralam have tarnished the dignity of the state. This incident is a challenge to the Constitution,” the Congress leader said.
According to police, the BDS student was found critically injured near the medical college block after falling from the building on the afternoon of April 10 in a case of suspected suicide. Though he was rushed to the medical college hospital and given treatment, he later succumbed to his injuries.
As per information given by the Public Relations Department of the Keralam Government, the Chakkarakkal police have registered a case and added charges of abetment to suicide under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and invoked provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the existing FIR.
The FIR was lodged based on the complaint given by the father of the deceased.
A special investigation team (SIT) headed by Kannur Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Hari Prasad has been formed to conduct a detailed investigation.
The Kannur Police said there could be a possible link to a loan app as the deceased had availed a loan from a mobile application during the December-January period and had since been receiving repeated calls from the lenders. The loan agency had also contacted a teacher at his college regarding the repayment, and the teacher reportedly received multiple calls in connection with the dues.
Additionally, there are voice recordings attributed to Nithin Raj, which he sent to his friends, in which he alleges casteist abuse, humiliation, and threats by a faculty member.
Another FIR has been registered at the Cyber Police Station.
The Keralam State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on April 12 directed the Kannur City Police Commissioner P Nidhinraj to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations raised by the family of Nithin Raj, a native of Uzhamalackal in Thiruvananthapuram, on his death and submit a detailed report within a week.
SHRC Judicial Member K Baijunath registered a suo motu case in the matter based on media reports, citing the gravity of the allegations.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had on Sunday in a X post said that “Audio recordings now reveal what his family has long alleged — relentless verbal abuse, casteist slurs, threats, and deliberate academic sabotage by faculty. A bright young life, extinguished by a toxic campus.”
Tharoor said the death is “chillingly reminiscent of the death of Sidharthan, another young student from Thiruvananthapuram.” “I had visited his grieving family after his tragic passing. In his case, it was student goons who drove him to his end, while a callous management looked the other way. Different perpetrators, same criminal institutional failure,” he said.
“Nithin’s family alleges he was mocked for his caste, his skin colour, his financial background. His internal marks were allegedly slashed as punishment. His mother’s surgery was ridiculed in class. And when he finally dared to stand up for himself, a system that should have protected him failed him catastrophically,” Tharoor detailed.
According to reports, two teachers of the medical college in Kannur have been suspended and an inquiry ordered.
Tharror in his post said, “The suspension of two faculty members is a start — but nowhere near enough. I demand a thorough criminal investigation and full accountability across the college administration.” (ANI)
