Audio flags faculty harassment before death of dental student
KANNUR/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An audio message purportedly sent by Nithin Raj RL, the 23-year-old first-year BDS student of Kannur Dental College who died after falling from a college building in a suspected suicide on Friday, surfaced on Sunday, in which he allegedly speaks of harassment by faculty members.The audio clip, reportedly sent to his friends, mentions threats of physical assault and academic repercussions. “The staff room is the place where they attack us as a group. Each one is worse than the other there… I was told that my limbs will be chopped if I leave the gates, and I will have to live without my hands for the rest of my life,” it says.
“Even yesterday, I was listening to his class. For no reason, he made me stand up and started belittling me and my mother, even referring to her surgery.
After that, I was told that my parents can be given the ‘surprise’ of my three marks being cut. I bear the insult as much as possible,” it adds.Kannur city police on Sunday formed an 11-member special investigation team under the direct supervision of city police commissioner Nidhinraj P to probe the case. The college had suspended two faculty members – Dr M K Ram, head of dental anatomy, and Dr Sangeetha, associate professor – after allegations of caste-based abuse, verbal harassment and intimidation surfaced.Raj’s body was taken to his residence in Uzhamalackal in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday and buried on family-owned land.
