Death of veterinary student: College officials accused of laxity

Kalpetta: The officials at the Veterinary and Animal Sciences University at Pookode in Wayanad received information on the mob trial suffered by Siddharathan almost six days after the incident. 

The youngster was beaten up on February 16. He was lying helpless in the hostel the entire day on February 17. The next day Siddharthan ended his life. However, the officials at the college came to know of all these atrocities only after they received a complaint on February 22. The cops had identified several unusual injuries on the body of the deceased during the inquest and had informed about it to the relatives and the doctor.

However, now allegations are being raised on why the college officials did not inform police when a suicide happened in the hostel.

Meanwhile, the college officials claim that they were not aware of the incident since there were only very few teachers in the institution on February 16 and 17 due to sporting events on the campus. 

No girl has lodged a complaint   

There are rumours that Siddharthan was beaten up for allegedly misbehaving with a girl of the college on Valentine’s day. However, police said that no girl has so far lodged any complaint related to the incident.

The prime accused in the case, Akhil of Palakkad, was arrested on Thursday evening, taking the total number of arrests made in this case to seven. Out of the total 18 accused, including some SFI leaders, 11 are still at large.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan ordered strict legal action against the accused in the case.

Meanwhile, KSU and ABVP staged protests on the campus of the university, demanding the arrest of all involved in the tragic death of Siddharthan. The KSU began an indefinite hunger strike, and ABVP observed a hunger strike. A protest march will be taken out to the university on Friday under the leadership of the Youth Congress.

The death of 20-year-old Siddharthan has stirred up the political waters in the state, with the Congress and the BJP blaming the ruling CPM's student wing, SFI, for torturing the young man to death.

Siddharthan was found hanging in his hostel's bathroom on February 18.
Later, his parents said that some of his college mates told them that he was beaten to death by some SFI leaders and activists.

His father contended that as per the postmortem report, his son's body had marks of three days-old injuries and an empty stomach, indicating brutal torture and starvation he suffered.

Based on the parents' claims, the police, which had initially registered a case of unnatural death, booked 12 students for various offences, including abetment of suicide, wrongful restraint, and voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, under the IPC and the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act. Later, the number of accused increased to 18.

(With inputs from PTI)