KALPETTA: Amid the raging controversy over the mob trial and subsequent death of Sidharth JS, a student of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Pookode, Wayanad, the anti-ragging committee of the veterinary university debarred 19 students, including SFI leaders, for three years. They were listed as accused by the police in connection with Sidharth’s suicide at the college hostel.
College dean MK Narayanan said the anti-ragging committee of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University has taken action against 31 students under various sections of the UGC Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging. “Of the 31 students, 19 have been barred from taking admission in any educational institution in India for three years, while 10 others are debarred for a year,” he said. Two students have been ousted from the college hostel.
Meanwhile, the police probing the case recorded the arrest of three more persons in the case on Friday, taking the total number of arrests to 10. One of the accused, Malappuram native Ameen Akbar Ali who is a fourth-year student, surrendered before the Kalpetta JFCM court in the evening.
Registrar seeks report from college dean on death
The probe team led by Kalpetta DySP Sajeev T N recorded the arrests of SFI unit secretary Amal Ehsan, college union president K Arun and member Asif Khan. Asif was nabbed from his house in Varkala on Thursday, while Arun and Amal, both natives of Mananthavady, had surrendered on the day.
Nine other accused are absconding. The police had on Thursday revealed that Sidharth, a native of Nedumangad in Thiruvananthapuram, was subjected to a mob trial at the boys’ hostel on February 16, two days before he was found hanging at the hostel’s bathroom on February 18.
Meanwhile, a report of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the institute has surfaced, which stated there was a complaint from a girl student against Sidharth.
Curiously, as per the inquiry report of the committee, the date of filing of the complaint is shown as February 18, the day when Sidharth was found dead. The committee received the complaint on February 19.
The police team probing the case had said that it had not received any complaint against Sidharth.
Meanwhile, the Registrar of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences has sought a report from the dean on the student’s death.
