Veterinary student's death: Kerala Guv suspends V-C for dereliction of duty

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Saturday suspended M.R. Saseendranath -- the vice-chancellor of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, for dereliction of duty with regards to the death of Siddarth, a 2nd year BVSC student, whose body was found hanging at his college in Wayanad on February 18.

Speaking to the media here Khan, who is also the Chancellor of Universities in the state, said he has now requested the Kerala High Court to spare a judge or a former judge of the High Court or the Supreme Court to conduct a detailed probe into the death of Siddarth.

“The post mortem report of the student reveals that his stomach was empty. Something is fishy as neither the dean or the warden knew of what was happening for days with regards to the student,” said Khan.

“It’s now become clear that the SFI (student wing of the CPI-M) in several colleges take over the control of one hostel and even the college authorities are scared to act as they use it for illegal activities. I have now got information that activists of the SFI and PFI are involved in this incident. The police as all know here are helpless,” said Khan.

“It has come to notice that some teachers also join the parties organised by the students,” added Khan.

After visiting the residence of Siddarth on Friday, Khan said the youth in Kerala were being trained to indulge in violence and bullying by certain forces, and appealed to all "not to create a cult of violence".

The father of Siddarth welcomed the quick action of Khan and he insisted that the dean also has come under scrutiny for his role.

Khan’s action has come at a time, when the Pinarayi Vijayan government remains a 'mute spectator' to the turn of events.