Opposition parties seek probe into student deaths
Three girl students allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a well, owing to the exorbitant college fees collected from them.
Chennai: The suicide of three college students on Friday night has snowballed into a political controversy ahead of Assembly polls. Opposition leaders including PMK founder S. Ramadoss, CPI (M) state secretary G. Ramakrishnan and MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Sunday demanded a judicial probe into the alleged suicide of three students of a naturopathy college in Villupuram district and sought strict action against a private college administration.
The three girl students allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a well, owing to the exorbitant college fees collected from them. Expressing shock and grief over the triple deaths, PMK founder S. Ramadoss said the college students have been protesting against lack of basic facilities for a long time. He said despite a complaint to the district collector, no action was taken and some students attempted suicide earlier.
“The tragic incident could have been prevented if action was taken against the college in the right time. At least now, the government should take action on those responsible behind the suicides,” he said, urging the state government to pay a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the families of the three students and admit the other students in a government-run college.
CPI (M) state secretary G. Ramakrishnan demanded a judicial probe into the issue and sought dismissal of the state health minister from the cabinet.
He also sought action against the officials who had given approval for the medical college without any required infrastructure.
The students studying in the college should be shifted to other government approved colleges immediately, he said.
In a statement here, Vaiko said that students lodged complaints with the Villupuram district collector and police against the SVS Yoga Medical College alleging that proper facilities were not provided to them.
“Following this, the collector had instructed the college to give back the fees and certificates to students. But the management ignored it,” he said.