Chennai: Protesting students ransack college library and canteen
Student's suicide sparks protest at college.
Chennai: Following the suicide by a second year student of a private engineering college in Sriperumbadur on Monday night allegedly after the principal admonished him for accumulating arrear papers scoring low marks, other students in the college on Tuesday ransacked the laboratory, library and canteen of the institute to mark their protest.
According to the police, J Ajith Kumar, a second year civil engineering student of St Joseph College of Engineering, Sriperumbadur, committed suicide by hanging himself on a fan in the college hostel room on Monday night. Ajith Kumar’s friends broke open the door of room number 208 of III floor of the hostel, where he was staying.
They snapped the rope and rushed him to a private hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Students on Tuesday morning alleged that Ajith killed himself because the principal of the college scolded him for accumulating six arrear papers for the first year.
Students also claimed that there was no effort from the college to take Ajith to hospital and if he was given medical attention immediately he could have survived. To mark their protest the students on Tuesday ransacked the college laboratory, canteen, room of principal Dr M A Leo Vijilious and library.
Following students’ unrest the college administration had declared holiday for two weeks.
Later in the day, Ajith’s father Jnanamani, who arrived from his native Chidambaram in Cudallore district, has lodged a complaint with the Sriperumbadur police saying that only after the college principal scolded Ajith Kumar in front of other students, his son committed suicide.
He requested the police to take immediate action against those responsible for the death of his son. Police later in the night said that they had registered a case against principal and two other college officials for abetting the suicide. The Sriperumbudur police booked a case under the IPC Sections 306 (abetting suicide), 294 (b) (abusing) and 506 (I) (criminal intimidation).