Thrissur: The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has launched a stir seeking action against those allegedly responsible for the suicide of Mahesh, a first-year student at the Horticulture College under the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) here.
According to the SFI, which is the students’ wing of the CPM, ragging by leaders of the Kerala Students’ Union (KSU) – which owes allegiance to the Congress – had forced Palakkad native Mahesh to take his own life.
SFI’s march to the college on Tuesday demanding a fair investigation into the suicide led to tension on the campus. The march was blocked by the police in front of the college.
However, several SFI activists evaded the police and reached the college gate, where they reportedly damaged KSU flags. The activists were soon pacified by their leaders.
Meanwhile, KSU leaders pointed out that the police had not identified ragging to be the cause of Mahesh’s suicide. The police, in fact, had said that personal reasons could have led the student to take his own life.
According to KSU, by raising the suicide issue, SFI was making an attempt to get a foothold on a campus where it has no influence.