Students’ protests at the Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kanjirappally, following the suicide of 20-year-old Shraddha Sathish, a second-year Food Technology student, drew to a close on Wednesday with the State government declaring a Crime Branch probe into the incident.
The decision followed consultations held by Higher Education Minister R. Bindu and Cooperation Minister V.N. Vasavan with representatives of the students, college management and the Parent-Teacher Association. “The case will be investigated by a Deputy Superintendent of Police of the Crime Branch and supervised by the Superintendent of Police,” said Dr. Bindu.
According to her, the management has promised action against the college staff if the investigation confirmed their role in the suicide. The government has warned against initiating any disciplinary action against the students who protested.
The management, meanwhile, has agreed to keep the hostel warden, accused of harassing the victim, off her duties till the completion of the probe, after holding consultations with the Kanjirappally diocese that runs the college.
Counselling mechanism
The Minister asked the college to strengthen its student counselling mechanism and make it more accessible. “A direction has also been issued to strengthen the functioning of its students’ grievance cell,” the Minister added.
The college has agreed to explore the possibility of appointing a students’ union through election, as proposed by the students.
Classes from Monday
Regular classes at the institution are slated to resume on Monday.
Responding to the government’s decision, parents of Shraddha said they would approach court if the investigation was found to be unsatisfactory. They alleged that the local police failed to investigate the incident properly in the initial stages.
Meanwhile, Kerala State Youth Commission chairman M. Shajar on Wednesday visited the college and interacted with the students and the college staff.
Shraddha was found unresponsive in her hostel room on June 2. It is alleged that she took the extreme step after teachers seized her mobile phone, which she had used in the laboratory. The students accused that the hostel warden did not inform the doctors who attended to her at a nearby hospital that the student was taken to hospital after a suicide attempt.
