The remand report linked to the tragic death of a second-year student at Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Wayanad has brought forth disturbing details of the victim’s brutal assault. All 18 accused in the case, which involves the demise of 20-year-old Sidharthan J S, found hanging in the college hostel on February 18, have been apprehended and placed in judicial custody.

According to the report submitted by the police on Sunday, Sidharthan was subjected to a vicious assault where a belt and a cable wire were employed as weapons. The accused face charges under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including wrongful restraint, voluntarily causing hurt, and abetment of suicide, alongside relevant sections of the Kerala Prohibition Of Ragging Act.

The report sheds light on a public trial held within the hostel by Sidharthan’s classmates and seniors, accusing him of misconduct with a fellow female student. Following this, one of the accused summoned Sidharthan back to the college to address the matter through the “unwritten law” of the hostel, rather than involving the police.

Describing the assault, the report states that Sidharthan was stripped down to his underwear and mercilessly attacked by the accused, with some employing a belt and a cable wire. The brutality began on February 16 at around 9 PM and persisted until 2 AM on February 17.

In their plea to the court to deny bail to the accused, the police highlighted the parents’ demand for a thorough inquiry, disputing suicide as the cause of Sidharthan’s death. The deceased, a second-year Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry student, reportedly showed signs of severe injuries over a three-day period, according to the postmortem report. His parents contend that he was brutally beaten and denied food.

The incident has stirred political tensions in the state, with the Congress and BJP accusing the Students Federation of India (SFI), the ruling CPI(M)’s student wing, of beating Sidharthan to death. SFI has vehemently denied these allegations. Initially registered as a case of unnatural death, the incident has now garnered attention and calls for a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the student’s tragic demise.

Source: PTI

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