Kannur: Two teachers of the Kannur Dental College, Ancharakandy, who were booked for abetment of suicide and caste-based harassment in connection with the death of first-year BDS student R L Nithin Raj, on Friday moved the Thalassery Sessions Court seeking anticipatory bail, but were denied interim protection from arrest.

Nithin Raj (22), allegedly harassed over his caste and complexion by the teachers, was found lying injured on Friday, soon after which he succumbed to his injuries.

Following this, the police registered a case against Dr M K Ram, Head of the Department of Oral Pathology, and K T Sangeetha Nambiar, Associate Professor in the same department, under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 3(1)(r) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, for deliberately insulting or intimidating a member of the SC/ST community in public view.

As public outrage and protests by student and youth organisations grew, demanding their arrest, the two teachers approached the sessions court seeking anticipatory bail.

When the court posted the matter for hearing on April 22, they sought interim protection from arrest till then, citing fear of imminent arrest. However, under vehement opposition from Public Prosecutor Adv Ajith Kumar K, the court did not grant interim relief and posted those petitions as well to April 22.

In their pleas, Dr Ram and Dr Nambiar said they had no role in the student’s death and claimed that Nithin Raj was facing threats from a loan app, which could have led to the suicide. In Dr Ram’s bail petition, he also claimed that he belonged to a “lower caste” and therefore could not be booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.  When contacted, Kannur City Police Commissioner Nidhinraj P said Dr Ram had claimed to belong to the Bajanthri community. “However, I have not yet received his caste certificate and so I cannot comment on the matter yet,” he said.  The public prosecutor, however, said the community is classified as Other Backward Class (OBC), and therefore the sections invoked under the Act would stand. “The matter is before the police commissioner, and he will verify his community status soon,” he said.  

Public Prosecutor Adv Ajith Kumar told Onmanorama that bail was not the norm in cases registered under the Prevention of Atrocities Act, and that the law mandated hearing the victim or their family before deciding on bail. “I argued that this is a serious case and would need access to the case diary before we can argue,” he said. He said the charges invoked were non-bailable and warranted custodial investigation. “As of now, the two teachers have no protection from arrest,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Dental Commission has sought a report from college principal Dr Vinod Mony on the circumstances that led to Nithin Raj’s death. On Thursday, amid mounting protests, the college management, the Kannur-based Prestige Group of Institutions, terminated the services of Dr Ram.