CBI to probe Kerala veterinary student’s death case
CBI on Sunday took over the probe into the death of 20-year-old college student who died by suicide after allegedly being tortured and starved by his hostel mates in Wayanad for days
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday took over the probe into the death of 20-year-old undergraduate student who died by suicide after allegedly being tortured and starved by his hostel mates at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Pookode in Wayanad for days, said people aware of the matter.
The four-member CBI team arrived in Kannur from Delhi on Saturday, travelled to Wayanad and met Kerala Police officers, including district superintendent of police T Narayanan and Kalpetta deputy superintendent of police TN Sajeev, who was the lead investigator in the case.
CBI will also record the man’s father’s testimony on Tuesday in Wayanad.
The student, from Nedumangad in Thiruvananthapuram district, was found dead in a hostel washroom on February 18 this year. Police initially ruled out external motives, but the man’s family pointed to several injuries on his body and said they believed he had been assaulted.
Later, an interim report by the college anti-ragging squad, based on testimonies from several students, said the man was stripped down to his underwear, paraded and assaulted in the hostel’s open area. He was also reportedly starved of food and water for nearly three days, the family alleged.
At least 18 people including members of the Students’ Federation of India-run college union and local leaders of the outfit have been arrested and booked in connection with the student’s death. SFI is the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s student wing.
The university has suspended all 18, who have been booked for abetment to suicide, wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means among other offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as relevant sections of the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act.
The suspects include SFI unit secretary Amal Ehsan, college union chairperson K Arun and union member Asif Khan, all of whom are members of the Left student union.
CBI took over the probetwo days after a Kerala high court order, which in turn came on the back of a plea by the victim’s father, who alleged a delay in the central agency’s probe, despite the state government handing it the case files on March 23.
The high court also pulled up the state government for delaying the transfer of the case files even though it had notified its decision to hand over the probe to the CBI on March 9.
