In a disturbing incident from Kerala, a 20-year-old student named JS Sidharth, hailing from Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram, took his own life on 18 February 2024 in Wayanad. Reports suggest that he had been subjected to severe physical and verbal abuse by left-wing student leaders, who allegedly played a role in pushing him towards suicide. Shockingly, he was reportedly paraded naked by them. Six individuals affiliated with the Student Federation of India (SFI) were apprehended on 28 February 2024 after police interrogation. The father of the deceased, Jayaprakash, has accused the SFI student leaders of murder.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Billgate Joshua, Abhishek S, Dons Daayi, Akash SD, Rahan Binoy, and Sreehari RD. Charges were previously filed against K. Arun, N. Asif Khan, SFI Unit Secretary Amal Ihsan, K. Akhil, R.S., and an official complaint was made against others.
JS Sidharth, a second-year student at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Pookode, Wayanad, was found hanging in a college hostel toilet on 18 February 2024. The post-mortem report revealed signs of severe beating, an empty stomach, and wounds on his body, including head, jaw, and back injuries.
Following his death, the police initially registered a case of unnatural death. The college’s anti-ragging committee later suspended twelve students, including left-wing student leaders, for their involvement in brutally beating Sidharth in the days leading up to his suicide. Those arrested were not among the suspended students.
According to Sidharth’s father, his son was regularly tormented by left-wing students. The suspended SFI leaders included the college union president, a union member, and the SFI unit secretary. Sidharth’s father claimed that his son was beaten on 14 February 2024 after participating in a Valentine’s Day function. He criticized the Vythiri police for delaying action against the offenders.
The victim’s family alleges that Sidharth had bought a train ticket on 15 February 2024 but had to cancel the trip after receiving a call from a friend, after which he became unusually quiet and depressed. Sidharth’s father insisted that his son did not commit suicide but was killed and hanged. He expressed frustration over the lack of action due to the alleged political connections of the culprits.
K. Akhil, one of the primary offenders, was apprehended on February 29th from Palakkad. Opposition parties in Kerala have accused the administration of indifference to the issue. The suspects allegedly attended college until 24 February 2024, but it took a while for the police to show interest in apprehending them. Six students were eventually arrested after authorities were charged with negligence. Sajeev, leading the probe, stated that the police had charged both apprehended and absconded students under the Prohibition of Ragging Act and abetment of suicide (IPC Section 306) following the anti-ragging committee’s report.
This is not an isolated incident; just in the past year, there has been a surge in hooliganism, fraudulent degrees, electoral manipulation, and assaults on educators.
It is noteworthy that the 2024 Kerala University youth festival scheduled to take place from 7 March to 11 March 2024 has been named ‘Intifada,’ a term historically associated with militant groups like Hamas in Palestine. The choice of the name has sparked concerns about the potential promotion of Islamism and anti-Semitism, particularly due to its connection with the violent activities of Hamas against Israel.
Intifada has been a term used by Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas, to describe their campaigns of violence against Israel. The festival’s adoption of this name has raised eyebrows, questioning the appropriateness of associating an event with a term linked to terrorism.
The poster designed for the event also hints at Palestine/Hamas – the scarf pattern embedded on the Palestine map. The words also read “Against Invasion”, “Defence of Art”
Under @pinarayivijayan's disastrous rule, Kerala has become a hotbed of chaos and lawlessness. SFI Goons had Killed their colleagues in Taliban model, trial and punishment. This is not isolated; alone in the last year, there has been a spree of hooliganism, fake degrees, election… pic.twitter.com/70K7z3fC2D
— K Surendran (@surendranbjp) February 29, 2024
(with inputs from OpIndia)
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