A protest march conducted by Kerala Students Union (KSU) and Muslim Students Federation (MSF) to the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) in Pookode in Wayanad district turned violent on Monday, March 4. Police resorted to water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters, who pelted stones at the personnel.
The demonstration comes in the aftermath of the death of 20-year-old Sidharthan, who was subjected to brutal torture and harassment by his classmates in the hostel on February 18. The police booked 18 students in the case and arrested eight of them, mostly from the Students Federation of India (SFI). The remaining accused are absconding.
The arrested suspects have been identified as J Ajay, A Althaf, V Adithyan, EK Soud Risal, Sinjo Johnson, M Muhammad Danish, RS Kashinathan.
Meanwhile, Congress has announced a statewide protest in Kerala on March 7 demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. They alleged that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) government was trying to shield the suspects responsible for the murder of Sidharthan.
Congress MLA T Siddique criticised the police action and said that the party will intensify the protests in the coming days. KSU had organised the march to the university alleging that the university had failed to bring the issue to light and demanded that the dean of the university should be punished.
United Democratic Front (UDF) convenor MM Hassan said,“The Kerala government should also provide a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of the deceased. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should investigate the matter and a sitting judge of the Kerala High Court should inquire into the situation of campus politics.” Opposition leader VD Satheeshan has already written to Pinarayi Vijayan demanding a CBI probe.
BJP Kerala president K Surendran also alleged that the CPI(M) was shielding the suspects. "This was a clean, organised and well-planned murder. The police are trying their best to destroy the evidence,” he added. Sidharthan's father Jayaprakash said that his son would never commit suicide and said he was killed by SFI students in the college. Accepting that Sidharthan was subjected to a mob trial, a few students who were present at the hostel came out and said that there was no political undertone to the murder.
The college has debarred 31 students in connection with the death. While 19 have been debarred for three years, 12 others have been barred from education for a year. The anti-ragging committee has recommended the expulsion of students from the hostel as well. None of the students can enrol in any other college during this period.
Read: ‘Tied up, beaten with belts’: Police report details torture of Kerala student by collegemates