HYDERABAD: Police came under fire in social media on Wednesday after a video went viral showing a constable kicking an elderly person mercilessly when he tried to prevent them from taking the body of his daughter, who committed suicide on Tuesday, into the Patancheru Government hospital.
A little earlier, her father, S Chandrasekhar, with the help of ABVP activists, took the body out of the mortuary of the hospital and was trying to take it out of the hospital to stage a protest against the Narayana College, whose student she was, when the police began taking the body back into the hospital.
The girl, S Sandhay Rani, a first-year Intermediate student of Narayana Junior College in Velimala in RC Puram mandal was found hanging from the roof of her hostel room on Tuesday.
She was immediately taken to a private hospital in Velimala but she was declared brought dead. Later the body was shifted to Patancheru Government hospital for a post-mortem examination.
On Wednesday, her parents and ABVP activists descended on the hospital, broke open the mortuary and took the girl’s body, which was in a freezer box, and began taking it out of the hospital when the police stopped them. In the scuffle that ensued, the father of the girl fell in front of the freezer box and went underneath, momentarily stopping the police from moving the freezer box back towards the hospital. It was then that the constable Sridhar kicked her father several times until came out of the way of the freezer box.
Sangareddy in-charge SP Chandana Deepthi said on Twitter that action was being taken against the constable but pointed out that the agitators tried to take the body to Naryana College to stage a protest.
Sandhya’s parents blamed the college management for the girl’s death. They alleged that their daughter had been suffering from fever but the college management had not allowed her to go home. Fed up, the girl might have committed suicide, the parents alleged.
Later in the evening, the family of the victim has consented to payment of Rs 15 lakh to them as compensation by Narayana College. The parents and the management sat in talks for a long time before agreeing on the compensation amount.
TRS IT Minister KT Rama Rao tweeted that he was asking the Home Minister and DGP to review the insensitive handling of the girl’s father.
‘Take stern action’
Telangana-Recognised Schools Management Association (TRSMA) State president Y Shekar Rao demanded the closure of corporate schools and colleges in Telangana. He requested the State government to take stringent action against corporate schools and colleges, who, he alleged were cheating students and parents. “In corporate schools and colleges, students are under stress,” he said. He requested the State government to conduct a proper enquiry into corporate educational institutions.