Kannur: A new Crime Branch team that took over the investigation into the alleged suicide of BDS student R L Nithin Raj said on Wednesday that it would seek the re-arrest of prime accused Dr M Kodanda Ram, even as the Kerala High Court, hearing a related petition the same day, questioned whether senior police officers had conspired to ensure his release soon after his arrest.

Speaking to reporters in Kannur on Wednesday, Malappuram Crime Branch SP Mohanachandran Nair M P, who is heading the new team, said the Crime Branch had moved the Kannur Sessions Court seeking permission to re-arrest Dr Ram, the former head of the Department of Anatomy in Kannur Dental College. The petition is scheduled to be heard on Thursday.

His statement came on a day when Justice A Badharudeen of the Kerala High Court observed that there appeared to be a “large conspiracy from the top officials of the state” to ensure that Ram walked free after his arrest.

Nithin Raj (19) -- allegedly harassed over his caste and complexion by the teachers -- died by suicide on April 10. Dr Ram, the main accused in the case, evaded arrest for nearly 100 days. On July 19, the Crime Branch team led by Inspector Sreejith Koderi picked him up from Kodagu district in Karnataka. On July 20, the Thalassery Principal Sessions Court refused to remand him in custody after finding that the investigating agency had failed to communicate the grounds of arrest to him as required under a recent Supreme Court ruling.

The High Court, hearing a petition filed by Nithin Raj's mother, C R Latha, expressed strong displeasure over the police lapse. Latha is seeking relaxation of the requirement that the grounds of arrest be communicated to an accused.

New investigation
The new Crime Branch team began its investigation in Kannur on Wednesday under the leadership of SP Mohanachandran. He said DySP Jeevan George had been assigned charge of the probe.

George had earlier been part of the investigation and was examining whether harassment allegedly linked to loan app operators had contributed to Nithin Raj’s death. DySP Sudheer Kallan, who arrested Ram, was investigating allegations that caste-based discrimination and harassment at the dental college had contributed to the student’s death.

The new team will record the statements of Nithin Raj’s family again to check whether any aspect of the case was missed during the earlier investigation, Mohanachandran said. The possible involvement of loan app operators in the student’s death will also be examined.

He added that the Crime Branch had submitted its response in court regarding alleged lapses in the investigation.