The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has concluded that Sidharthan J.S., first year student of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookkode, Wayanad, committed suicide after being repeatedly humiliated, assaulted and harassed by senior students of the college, depriving him of his self-respect and dignity.
The agency has arraigned 19 students, K. Akhil, R.S. Kasinadhan, U. Ameen Akbarali, K. Arun, Sinjo Johnson, N. Asif Khan, A. Amal Ihsan, J. Ajay, A. Althaf, E. K. Soud Risal, V. Adithyan, M. Muhammed Dhanish, Rehan Binoy, S. D. Akash, S. Abhishek, R.D. Shreehari, Dones Daie, Billgate Joshwa Thannikkode and V. Naseef as accused in the case.
The accused have been charged with offences under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code such as criminal conspiracy, wrongful restraint, voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, wrongful confinement, use of criminal force or assault with the intent of dishonouring a person, abetment of suicide and criminal intimidation along with provisions of the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1998.
Sidharthan was found hanging in the dormitory bathroom of the men’s hostel on February 18.
The case began with the deceased allegedly misbehaving with a female student. Senior students decided to punish him for this. According to the chargesheet filed before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Tuesday, Soud Risal, Muhammed Dhanish and Rehan Binoy threatened and called him back to the college while he was travelling to his native place.
The accused illegally confined Sidharthan to a room in the men’s hostel, where he was physically assaulted with a belt and the cable wire of a glue gun and slapped, kicked and intimidated. They forced him to strip his clothes and remain in his undergarment and took him to the hostel courtyard in his underwear, subjecting him to further physical assault and humiliation, the agency noted.
Besides, the accused did not give him any medical care or made any attempts to bring him out of the mental trauma, thereby abetting him to commit suicide, the agency alleged.
