CBI takes over probe into death of Kerala student Jishnu Pranoy

Jishnu Pranoy, a first-year engineering student was found hanging in the hostel of Nehru College of Engineering and Research Centre, Pambady in Thrissur, in January last year.

File Photo of Jishnu Pranoy. | Express Photo Service

KOCHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the investigation into the sensational 'unnatural' death of engineering student Jishnu Pranoy from the special crime branch, Thiruvananthapuram. The development comes following the directive of the Supreme Court ordered last month.

The Thiruvananthapuram unit of the CBI Thursday submitted a re-registered FIR before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Ernakulam, for further investigation as per the December 5 order of the apex court.

No persons were named as accused in the FIR registered by the CBI. "We have re-registered the first FIR registered by Kerala Police at Pazhannur Police Station in which no accused were named. Only later few persons were arraigned as accused. We will investigate the role of these accused and arraign them as accused if the evidence against them emerge," said a CBI officer.

According to CBI, the files related to the investigation of the case has been sought from Kerala Police. "As an initial procedure, we have re-registered the FIR. Some of the documents of the case have not been received. The Kerala Police would hand over the documents soon," CBI officer said.

"The documents submitted by the police at the court concerned would be transferred to Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court soon. Later statement of witnesses and those arraigned as accused by the police would be gathered," the officer added.

The 18-year-old college student Jishnu Pranoy was found hanging in the bathroom of Nehru College of Engineering and Research Centre, Pambady in Thrissur, in January last year.

In the FIR, on the basis of the statement given by the victim's classmate Amal IT, it is stated that Pranoy was caught by an invigilator for copying during the examination conducted at the college on January 6, 2017, and due to mental tension he attempted suicide by hanging himself in the bathroom of the men’s hostel. His friends rescued Jishnu and took him to the taluk hospital in Ottappalam but he died on the way, the statement had said.

Krishnadas, former vice-principal of the college NK Sakthivel, PRO Sanjith Viswanath and two other male teachers of the college are the accused in Jisnhu Case. Another student Shaheer Shoukat Ali was allegedly beaten by P Krishnadas a few days before the Jishnu's death.

A separate case was registered by Kerala related to the incident. All the accused persons in both the case are out on bail. In October, Jishnu's mother Mahija had moved the SC seeking a CBI inquiry into the case.

(with agency inputs)