MAYILADUTHURAI: The body of the 19-year-old physiotherapy student who died by suicide in Nagapattinam last week, allegedly due to mistreatment by her college for non-payment of fees, was laid to rest on Tuesday.
A day after receiving promises of fair legal proceedings against the college staff, S Subashini's family, who along with her friends and relatives had been protesting for over a week, relented to collect her body.
Accordingly, the body was taken from the Nagapattinam government hospital in an ambulance to Nagore, where it was cremated around 3 pm. Hundreds, including students from Subashini's college, relatives, and members of the VCK and the CPM who followed the ambulance in a motorcycle procession on the Nagapattinam-Nagore Road, paid their last respects.
Police personnel were deployed in and around Nagore to prevent untoward incidents. Meanwhile, the CPM, which demanded the arrest of the college group chairman and others for the death of the student from the SC community, called off its mass protest on Tuesday.
The accused, who have been booked under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, are absconding, the police said.
CPM's Nagapattinam district secretary V Marimuthu said, "The officials assured us of a fair investigation into the case. They also pointed out that a legal course is already set and that the court has recorded the statements of the family members. They said more protests may complicate the proceedings."