KALPETTA : The remand report on the six students arrested on February 29 in connection with the death of J S Sidharthan, a second-year student of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookode, has stated that a detailed probe is required to ascertain the possibility of murder.
The report submitted by the police at the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Kalpetta, also detailed the hours-long torture using belts and cable wires and the mob trial that Sidharthan underwent at the hands of the accused on February 16, two days before he was found hanging in the hostel bathroom.
“The investigation team has to conduct an in-depth investigation to check the possibility of murder. The accused shall not be provided bail in the case as there is a possibility of influencing the witnesses who are the classmates and college mates of the accused, affecting the investigation process,” stated the remand report.
According to the report, the accused students called Sidharthan who was on his way to Nedumangad back to the hostel to settle a complaint — raised against him by a female student —as per the ‘unwritten rules’ of the hostel. On reaching the hostel, Sidharthan faced a mob trial and gruesome physical and mental torture for hours.
The report said Sidharthan was called back to the hostel by Rahan Binoy and Muhammed Danish. They told him if the complaint of the female student is not settled at the hostel, they will move ahead with a police case. Sidharthan, who reached the hostel on February 16 morning, was held hostage in his room by the accused till evening, the report stated.
Where it began: Main accused taken to hostel
The 18 accused took Sidharthan to various spots on the campus and started assaulting him around 9pm. Later, they took him to the boys’ hostel courtyard, dormitory and room number 21 and continued the assault and mob trial in front of other students till 2am on February 17.
They used belts and cable wires to beat Sidharthan. The victim was found hanging in the boys hostel bathroom on February 18, the report stated.
Meanwhile, the investigation team under the leadership of Kalpetta DySP Sajeev T N on Sunday took the main accused Sinjo Johnson to the boys’ hostel, where the victim faced severe physical and mental torture at the hands of the accused, for evidence collection. The team, along with the accused, first visited the central courtyard of the hostel, where Sidharthan was assaulted for hours on the night of February 16 in the presence of around 100 hostel mates.
The team later went to room number 21 and dormitory. The investigation team has also recovered the cable wire used for assaulting Sidharthan.
20 booked over attack on student in Koyilandy
Police have filed a case against 20 persons, including SFI workers, who attacked a fellow student of R Sankar Memorial SNDP Arts and Science College, Koyilandy, over a dispute on campus last Friday.