On 31st March, Jayaprakash, the father of JS Sidharthan, made serious allegations against the Kerala government in connection to his son’s death and said if no action is taken, he will protest outside Cliff house (Kerala CM residence) along with his wife once her health condition improves. He added that the protest would not be against delay in the CBI investigation but an attempt to sabotage the probe.
Sidharthan was a student of Government Veterinary College, Pookkode in the state. According to police, he was found hanging in his hostel room on February 18. He died as a result of ragging at the college.
Speaking to the media, the deceased student’s father Jayaprakash accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the state government of sabotaging the investigation. He also questioned why the request for CBI inquiry was sent by the State Home Ministry to CBI Kochi and not to the Union Home Ministry.
In his statement, he accused the state government and police of sabotaging important information that was supposed to be given to the Central Bureau of Investigation that took over the case. He added that no action was taken based on the anti-ragging committee report. Furthermore, he questioned why one of the accused, Akshay, was not arrested.
Jayaprakash said SFI leader PM Arsho visited the college regularly. He questioned why he did not take any action, though he was aware of the physical assault on Sidharthan. He demanded that Arsho and the girl who filed a complaint against JS Sidharthan should be taken into custody for questioning.
He said, “Why did Arsho ignore the assault that had been happening for eight months?” Speaking on the exclusion of Akshay, he alleged that former minister MM Mani was protecting the accused.
He said, “Others who were involved were included in the case, but why not Akshay?” He also questioned not including Dean as he was suspended, indicating he was at fault. Jayaprakash said, “He has been suspended, so why not include him in the case?”
He added, “It has been 41 days since Sidharthan passed away. Today, during the rites, Sheeba, Sidharthan’s mother, collapsed; her health is falling.”
JS Sidharthan found hanging in hostel after torture by SFI members
On 18th February, 20-year-old JS Sidharthan (or Sidharth) was found dead in the KVASU hostel. Several SFI members are accused of torturing the student for days, leading to the suicide.
Sidharthan’s death sparked an outrage in the state following which Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan suspended Professor (Dr) MR Saseendranath, the vice-chancellor of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. Moreover, 31 university students were also suspended on the recommendation of the anti-ragging committee for connections with the case.
Most members are members of the Students Federation of India (SFI), a student group affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist). A total of 11 accused have been arrested so far, and 4 of them are leaders of the SFI.
Notably, JS Sidharthan’s body was found hanging in a toilet of the college hostel in the afternoon. His post-mortem report carried many revelations including that he suffered a severe beating before death. Furthermore, his stomach was empty and there were wounds on his body. He sustained head, jaw and back injuries.
Afterwards, the police registered a case of unnatural death in this case. Twelve students comprising left-wing student leaders were also suspended from the college after its anti-ragging committee found the victim was brutally beaten up by fellow students days before his death. The arrested individuals are not among the suspended students who are evading capture. According to Sidharth’s father, left-wing students regularly tortured his son. The suspended SFI leaders and members include the college union president, a union member, and the SFI unit secretary.
On 9th March, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ordered a CBI inquiry into the case. Opposition parties and the father of the student had blamed the SFI for the death of the student.
