Dalit groups stage bandh over student’s suicide in Kerala

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like A dawn-to-dusk bandh called by Dalit organisations on Tuesday in Kerala in protest against alleged police inaction in the case of the suicide of Dalit dental student at a university in Kannur disrupted normal life in several parts of the state. Dalit groups stage bandh over student’s suicide in KeralaThe Kerala high court ordered the registration of a suo motu case over reported clashes between those who backed the bandh, members of the public and the police in several parts. The vacation bench of justices Basant Balaji and P Krishna Kumar posted the matter for further consideration on May 1. The counsel for the State informed the HC that 27 cases had been registered till 3 pm on Tuesday and 91 persons arrested in connection with the bandh. Dalit organisations and an action council formed in the name of the deceased Dalit student called the bandh to put forth a set of demands including ₹10 crore compensation for the victim’s family, arrest of the accused faculty members who allegedly harassed the student on grounds of caste and colour and cancellation of the dental college’s accreditation. The bandh led to clashes between protesters and the police in several districts including Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta. Those backing the bandh disrupted traffic on key roads in cities including Thiruvananthapuram, causing inconvenience to people, including those heading to hospitals for emergency medical procedures and students heading for key competitive examinations. KT Sangeetha Nambiar, the second accused booked on charges of abetting the student’s suicide, appeared before the SIT in Kannur and was promptly arrested. She was interrogated for hours. She was later released on bail as a local court in Thalassery had accepted her plea for anticipatory bail. The court had accepted her argument that she was not present in the college principal’s chamber where the student was summoned on the day he died by suicide. Vishnu Varma is Assistant Editor and reports from Kerala for the Hindustan Times. He has 10 years of experience writing for print and digital platforms and has worked at The New York Times, NDTV and The Indian Express in the past. He specialises in longform reportage at the intersections of politics, crime, social commentary and environment.Read More