Students’ protest over campus suicide turns violent

KERALA

A CAMPUS march to protest an engineering student’s suicide at a private college in Kerala’s Thrissur took a violent turn Monday. Students, who were marching under the banner of Students’ Federation of India and Kerala Students Union, broke furniture inside the college. The SFI has also called for a statewide strike on Tuesday.

Jishnu Pranoy, 18, a Btech (Computer Science) student of Nehru College of Engineering in Thrissur,wasfoundhanginginthe bathroom of his hostel last Friday.

According to police, Pranoy had been caught for alleged malpractice during an exam. He was taken to college office, where authorities threatened to debar him from the exam. That evening, he was found hanging, said police.

Students allege that college PRO, Sajith Vishwanathan, son of Congress leader K P Vishwanathan, tortured Pranoy in his chamber.

Pranoy’s father Ashokan said hissonwouldnotcommitsuicide without any provocation. He alleged that Jishnu was tortured and his body had several bruises.

Vice-principal of the college Dr A S Vardharajan said: “The agitation and social media campaign are meant to tarnish the image of the college.’’

Education Minister Prof C Raveendranath said a report has been sought from the V-C of the Science and Technology University.