The Thalassery Additional Sessions Court-IV Judge J Vimal on Saturday denied anticipatory bail to Dr M K Ram in connection with the death of first-year BDS student Nithin Raj at Kannur Dental College, Anjarakandy. The court, meanwhile, granted bail to K T Sangeetha Nambiar.

Public Prosecutor K Ajithkumar told the media that Ram suffered a setback in court. “He also made incorrect statements related to religion and attempted to escape from the case,” Ajithkumar added.

In the bail plea, Dr Ram denied any role in the student’s death and claimed there was no harassment or criminal intent on their part. He stated that the student was academically weak, had performed poorly in internal examinations, and had been advised by faculty to improve ahead of the next test. After the first internal examination in which Nithin scored 6 out of 70 marks, Ram had no further interaction with the student, the plea stated.

The plea further claimed that Nithin had taken loans from private lending institutions and had listed the phone number of Assistant Professor Latha Sasidharan as a reference without her knowledge, allegedly because his mother shared the same name. The plea also cited a prior complaint filed against Nithin by a female student at Chakkarakkal police station, alleging that he had demanded money using her photographs.

According to the plea, recovery agents had been repeatedly contacting and sending messages to Latha Sasidharan, demanding repayment and warning that calls would continue unless the loan was cleared or her number removed. Based on this, she filed a complaint with the cyber police.

The plea stated that on April 10, Nithin was summoned to principal Vinod Mony’s cabin in connection with this complaint. He remained there from 11 am to 12.40 pm, in the presence of faculty members including Dr Faizal and Vice Principal Dr Noushad. After the meeting, the principal allegedly spoke sternly to the student outside the cabin, in front of other staff, and warned of informing his parents and the police.

Ram also argued that the ingredients of abetment of suicide under Section 108 of the BNS were not made out in the case. He further contended that provisions of the SC/ST Act were not applicable, stating that he himself belonged to a backward community and had no history of misconduct or prior complaints in his long teaching career.

Both accused maintained that they were innocent, had no criminal antecedents, and said they were willing to cooperate with the investigation. They sought protection from arrest, stating that any detention would cause irreparable damage to their reputation and career.

Ram, formerly Head of the Department of Oral Pathology, was removed from his position after being named in the case, while Sangeetha Nambiar is an Associate Professor in the same department. Both have been booked under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 3(1)(r) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly insulting or intimidating a member of the SC/ST community in public.

The student, 22-year-old Nithin Raj from Thiruvananthapuram, was allegedly subjected to harassment over his caste and complexion by faculty members. He was found injured on the college campus on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.

Nithin Raj’s father, Rajan, and his brother-in-law, Ashok, have been impleaded in the petition opposing the bail plea.

The accused had earlier approached the Thalassery court seeking interim protection from arrest, which was denied. They are currently absconding.

Meanwhile, the college management denied allegations of caste-based harassment and maintained that issues related to a loan app may have led to the student’s death.