Kannur (Kerala) | A court on Saturday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of the main accused doctor in connection with the death of a student at Kannur Dental College, while granting relief to another faculty member.
Kannur District and Principal Sessions Court in-charge Judge Vimal J rejected the anticipatory bail petition of prime accused Dr M K Ram, former head of the Anatomy Department at Kannur Dental College, a private management institution in Anjarakandy.
Another faculty member, Dr Sangeetha Nambiar, was granted anticipatory bail.
First-year BDS student Nithin Raj was found dead on April 10 after falling from a building on the college campus in a suspected suicide.
Though police initially registered a case of unnatural death, they later arraigned Ram and Nambiar on charges of abetment of suicide and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after Raj's family alleged that he had been harassed by faculty members on the basis of caste and complexion.
Kannur Cyber Police subsequently registered a separate case after it emerged that Raj had borrowed money through a loan app and that its operators had contacted his teacher, who then complained to college authorities.
Following the death of Raj, both Ram and Nambiar went into hiding and approached the court seeking anticipatory bail.
During the hearing, Ram denied harassing Raj on the basis of caste or complexion.
He contended that Raj was weak in studies and that he had only advised him to improve, as his internal marks were very low.
Ram further claimed that Raj was under pressure due to harassment by loan app operators and denied any role in the student's death.
He also argued that provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act could not be invoked against him as he belonged to a Scheduled Caste community.
Nambiar maintained that she had no involvement in the case and had never harassed Raj in any manner.
The prosecution opposed the bail pleas of both faculty members, contending that Raj had been repeatedly harassed by Ram and threatened with disciplinary action.
It also objected to Ram's claim regarding his caste status, casting doubt on the authenticity of the documents produced before the court.
After hearing all sides and considering the gravity of the case and available evidence, the court rejected Ram's anticipatory bail plea while allowing Nambiar's petition.