The anti-ragging committee of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Pookode in Wayanad district of Kerala barred 31 students from studies, in connection with the death of JS Sidharthan, a second-year student of the campus. The college is affiliated to Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU).
While 19 of them have been barred for three years, 12 have been barred for one year. The committee has recommended the college to expel the students from the hostel as well. None of the students can enrol in any other college during this period.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is also the Chancellor of universities in the state, suspended MR Saseendranath, Vice Chancellor of KVASU, on March 2, 2024. He also gave the charge of the varsity to PC Saseendran, a former professor of KVASU.
The 20-year-old was found dead in the hostel bathroom on February 18. While the police initially considered it as a case of suicide, the post-mortem report and further investigation revealed that Sidharthan was brutally assaulted by his college mates days before his death, many of them being members of the Students Federation of India (SFI), an organisation linked to the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
At least 18 students of the college have been arraigned as accused, of whom eight have been arrested so far. The rest are absconding. According to Sidharthan’s parents, he was assaulted by his seniors and friends, purportedly due to displeasure over him dancing with a few women college mates on February 14, Valentine’s Day. The postmortem report states that there were multiple abrasions and contusions in Sidharthan’s head, face, neck, shoulders, chest, and hands.
The prime accused in the case, 21-year-old, Sinjo Johnson was arrested by the Kerala police on Saturday, March 2. Sinjo was taken into custody from his relative’s house in Karunagappally.
While initially, a case of unnatural death was registered, it was changed and 12 persons were charged with several offenses, including abetment of suicide, wrongful restraint, and causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, under both the Indian Penal Code and the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act.
An investigation by digital news portal The Fourth, found that the complaint to the Internal Complaints Committee (IC) with regard to Sidharthan allegedly misbehaving with a woman student was submitted after his death.
According to The Fourth, it was only on February 19, a day after Sidharthan’s death, that the woman’s cell of the college received a complaint that he allegedly misbehaved with a woman student. A member of the Internal Complaints Committee (IC) told The Fourth that it was only on February 20, that the complaint was handed over to the IC, all of which goes on to raise questions about foul-play on the part of the SFI as well as college authorities. The IC met on February 20 and February 26 and decided against action because the person against whom the complaint was filed had died.