The Anjarakandy Dental College in Kannur on Saturday suspended two teachers in connection with the death of a first-year BDS student, an official at the college confirmed. However, the college is yet to reveal the identities of the suspended persons.

Nithin Raj, a first-year BDS student, was found dead on Friday on the college campus in a suspected case of suicide. Following his death, the Chakkarakkal police registered a case under Section 194 (unnatural death) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

According to Dr Vinod Mony, the principal, Nithin was found around 1.15 pm by a student near the medical college block. He said that the college had formed an internal committee to inquire into the incident.

Nithin’s family alleges that he may have taken the extreme step after his visit to the staff room. “His friends had called him for lunch afterwards, but he declined. They said that he seemed very angry after the visit to the staff room,” Nithin’s sister Nikitha told Onmanorama.

“He was perfectly alright when we spoke to him on Friday morning. He had even booked a train ticket to come back home today,” she said.

Nikitha alleged that one of his teachers had verbally harassed him, following which a complaint was filed with the principal. “It was the staff at the college who encouraged him to file the written complaint, and the principal himself assured him that there wouldn’t be any issues. But now the principal is telling us that no such complaint was received,” she told Onmanorama.

She said that the teacher in question had threatened to cut his marks and scheduled an exam on a date when he already had two other exams, which left him severely distressed.

Nithin’s relative Vishwanbharan spoke to the media, alleging that the teacher, Dr Ram, was the main culprit. He accused him of using racist remarks and foul language against Nithin. “He questioned what right the boy had to study at the institute,” Vishwanbharan told the media, adding that the teacher had threatened to fail Nithin.

However, the college has denied the allegations. “We have not received any such complaints from the family so far,” Dr Mony told the media. Dr Mony did not respond to Onmanorama's request for a comment.

Sanoop, the operations head of Anjarakandy Medical College, said that the two teachers were suspended after the college recieved complaints regarding their role in Nithin’s death. “We are cooperating with the police and investigations are underway. Once they conclude, we will take final action based on that,” Sanoop told Onmanorama.

The Chakkarakkal police said they are investigating the matter and awaiting the post-mortem report to confirm the cause of death. “We are compiling all the leads we have received and awaiting all pending reports,” an officer told Onmanorama.