Wayanad: The police on Saturday registered a case against 12 students of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) at Pookkode near, Vythiri here in connection with the suicide of Thiruvananthapuram's Nedumangad native Sidhardh (20) a student of Bachelor in Veterinary Sciences (B V Sc) at the university.
Friends of Sidhardh had found his body hanging at the toilet of the hostel towards noon on February 18, Sunday.
Though Vythiri police had registered a case for unnatural death initially, later a case under the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act- 1998 was registered against 12 students including the unit secretary of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and KVASU students’ union president. The academic dean of the varsity suspended the students on Friday as recommended by the Anti-Ragging Committee of the institution.
While registering the statements of the victim's friends, police had earlier reached the conclusion that the suicide was due to extreme mental agony and physical torture by the senior students of the institution.
Those suspended in connection with the incident were KVASU student union president K Arun, union member Asif Khan, SFI unit secretary Amal Ihsan, K Akhil, R S Kashinathan, J Ajay, Ameen Akbar Ali, Sinjo Johnson, E K Saud Risal, A Althaf, Muhammed Danish and V Adithyan. Among the accused, four people namely Saud, Althaf, Danish and Adithyan are Sidhardh's classmates.All others are his seniors, said police.
The anti-ragging committee has announced the suspension of the students after receiving a complaint from the students. Sidhardh was harassed, subjected to a public trial and brutally beaten up by senior students in connection with an incident that took place amid the Valentine’s Day celebrations on the campus.
Sheeba, the mother of Sidhardh also had approached the Chief Minister and ADGP alleging conspiracy behind the death of the student. A team led by Kalpetta DySP NT Sajeev is investigating the case.
