Thiruvananthapuram/Palakkad, Apr 24 (PTI) CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan on Friday said that the death of a BDS student in Kannur recently, in a suspected suicide case, had exposed the presence of casteism even in higher education institutions in Kerala and called for a united fight against it.
Govindan, at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, said the issue was being taken seriously by the government and the entire state.
Nithin Raj (22), a first-year BDS student at a private dental college in Anjarakandy in Kannur district, was found critically injured after falling from a college building on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.
Govindan called for the arrest of those responsible for the student’s death.
The CPI(M) state secretary said that the student community and organisations, especially in professional colleges, needed to be strengthened so they can identify, expose, and resist instances of casteism.
Senior CPI(M) leader A K Balan also echoed similar views, saying that caste discrimination had reportedly been prevalent in the dental college for a long time, according to students.
He claimed that deliberate attempts were being made to link the student’s death with loan app-related issues.
“The caste and other forms of discrimination in that institution against students are not new and have been going on for some time. The students themselves have said they submitted numerous complaints to the principal and the Vice-Chancellor (VC),” Balan said.
“So, the VC and the principal should also be questioned, not just the faculty members. The police must seriously examine whether there is an attempt to link the death with loan apps,” he added. PTI HMP SSK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.