Congress leader and Member of Parliament from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi has written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan demanding a CBI enquiry into the death of J.S. Sidharth, the student of College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Pookkode, Wayanad, who was allegedly tortured at the college hostel by students of the college.
In his letter, Mr. Gandhi termed Sidharth’s death as “institutional murder”. Mr. Gandhi said Sidharth’s tragic death after days of gruesome torture had shocked the collective conscience of all. The blood-curdling details emerging about the inhumane torture that he underwent was a reminder that the failure of an institution tasked to protect students could result in a grave tragedy, he said.
“The perpetrators of this crime are active members of the Students’ Federation of India [SFI] and we are collectively paying a huge price for the shocking culture of campus violence in Kerala. The blanket impunity enjoyed by certain elements have only served to embolden them. The systematic attempts to stifle voices has turned certain student bodies into violent mobs,” said Mr. Gandhi.
The university administration as well as the law enforcement agencies sought to shield the perpetrators instead of bringing them to book and that deliberate ploy to cover up the case should be condemned unequivocally, he added.
“Sidharth was a young student with a bright future. His parents Jayaprakash and Sheeba deserve justice. No parent should have to live with the trauma and pain of having their young son’s life extinguished,” wrote the MP.
“The manner in which the arrests were made only after widespread public outrage has shaken people’s faith that there will be an impartial investigation. Furthermore, doubts have been cast on the contents of the police remand report. The Kerala government had a moral duty to act impartially,” he said.
Demanding a CBI investigation into the death, Mr. Gandhi stated that the future of the youth could not be sacrificed at the altar of ruthless political ambitions.
