The Erumapetty police on Monday arrested P Krishnadas, Chairman of the Nehru Group of Institutions in Kerala, based on a harassment complaint filed by a student of the institution. 

Legal advisor to the Group, Suchithra, and PRO Valsaraj have also been taken into police custody. 

The police action was based on a complaint filed by Shaheer Shoukathali, a 2nd year LLB student from the Lakkidi campus, on January 2 this year. 

Shaheer alleged that Krishnadas and a few others from the college had mentally harassed and physically tortured him. 

The incident, Shaheer said, took place some days before January 6, the day when Jishnu Pranoy, a student from the Pambady campus, killed himself over alleged torture by college authorities.

The 18-year old first-year student of Nehru College of Engineering and Research Centre in Thrissur had reportedly killed himself following allegations by college authorities of cheating in an examination. There were also allegations that Jishnu was subjected to brutal assault by the Vice Principal and college PRO in their office.

Last week, the principal district Sessions court in Thrissur dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of two accused in the case relating to Jishnu's death. The court on Friday dismissed the bail pleas filed by the college vice-principal M K Sakthivel and the faculty member C P Praveen, who was the invigilator in the examination hall.

At a solidarity event held at the Kerala Secretariat earlier in March, Jishnu's mother Mahija had said, "There should not be another Jishnu. My son’s fate should not befall anyone else. We need everybody’s support."

His family had also demanded that the bail given to Krishnadas, who is the first accused as mentioned by the SIT in its investigation report, should be cancelled.