Social media forces Kerala govt to order probe in Jishnu Pranoy's death case

Kochi: The social media has forced the government to order an inquiry on Monday into the death of Jishnu Pranoy, a first-year undergraduate engineering student of Nehru College of Engineering and Research Centre, Thrissur, on Friday. Jishnu was found hanging with veins cut in the hostel after the examiner had caught him copying in the exam hall. He had also threatened to ban Jishnu from appearing in other exams.

With the social media taking up the case, the union activists staged a protest before the college which turned violent and the police registered a case.

A few students of the college had started sharing the pictures of Jishnu on Saturday. During the last two days, the people changed their profile pictures and trended #JusticeforJishnu. Many termed his suicide as "institutional murder." Some also signed an online petition seeking action against the college authorities for the inhuman treatment meted out by them to the students.

Director Aashiq Abu led the online debate by posting the picture of a teacher of the college trying to beat up a student and sharing the pictures of students protesting on the college campus.

The activists also criticised media organisations for keeping silent on the suicide and the subsequent developments. After the topic was debated on Facebook, the former students of Nehru College and other colleges opened up and shared shocking facts, including exorbitant fee structure imposed by the college. Many posted their experiences when they studied in the college.

"When I raised my voice, the chairman of the college beat me up. Later, they even hired a mechanic who came to fix AC on the campus to beat me up. The teachers are also engaged in harassing students by manhandling them. A teacher even used to go to the hostels and houses to attack them. The college, in fact, hired a thug as a teacher,” a student posted.