After receiving assurances that Crime Branch would conduct an investigation into Shraddha’s death, the students of Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kanjirappally, quit their protest on Wednesday.
The Kerala police’s crime branch will look into Shraddha Satheesh’s death under the supervision of a DySP. She was a student at Amal Jyothi Engineering College in Kanjirapally. The student’s death has alarmed the campus community, and some of her classmates have accused the administration of pushing her toward suicide.Â
On June 2, Shraddha Satheesh, an Ernakulam native, was discovered hanging in her dormitory room. Students claim that the college administration transported her to the hospital on the pretext that she had become unconscious. Unfortunately, she passed away in the hospital.
Students Claim Mental Abuse
Shraddha had returned to the institution to start her fourth semester of classes on June 1. The following day, during lab hour, her phone was taken away, and she was then led to the department head’s office. Students and Shraddha’s family members claimed that she started talking about death after leaving the HOD’s office. According to several of the students, Shraddha’s post about the online survey may have prompted the authorities to seize and criticise her when they confiscated her phone. Later that day, in her hostel room, she was discovered to have made an attempt on taking her life. After being transported to a local hospital, Shraddha passed away.Â
Following her passing, a large crowd of students descended into the university grounds in protest. They claimed that the authorities’ mental abuse caused her to commit suicide. On Tuesday, June 6, students from all departments and batches gathered in front of the institution and posed questions to the administrators.
The administration ordered the students to leave their hostels on Tuesday after deciding to close the university. However, the angered students decided to keep their protest going on campus and refused to leave. Additionally, they said that the police overreacted when confronting the protesting students.
Minister Assures Crime Branch Investigation
Following an assurance from Minister for Higher Education R Bindu that the crime branch of the police will look into the student’s suicide, the protests were put to an end by the students. The minister also stated that the college would reopen on Monday.
On Wednesday at Kanjirapally, representatives of the college administration and the protesting students met with the ministers of cooperation and higher education. Following the death of the second-year food technology student, the meetings were intended to find a solution to the demands put forth by the students. The head of the food technology department and the warden of the hostel have been called for removal by the students. R Bindu also added in the discussion that self-financing colleges have been unnecessarily strict with their students, pushing students to edges with their discipline and moral policing.
The police superintendent will be in charge of the investigation. If the inquiry reveals that the suspected staff members were responsible for the student’s suicide, the management has vowed to take measures against them. Additionally, it has been determined that the administration would refrain from taking any disciplinary action against the students who participated in the protests.
