Nithin Raj suicide: Accused teacher Dr. MK Ram moves Kerala High Court for anticipatory bail

Dr. M Kodanda Ram, a dental college professor accused in connection with the death of Dalit student Nithin Raj, has approached the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail after a sessions court in Thalassery rejected his plea [Dr M Kodanda Ram v State of Kerala & anr].

First-year BDS student Nithin Raj is believed to have died by suicide after facing caste-based harassment from the faculty at Kannur Dental College.

Raj was found critically injured after allegedly jumping from a building near the college on April 10. He succumbed to his injuries later the same day.

Initially, a crime was registered based on the statement of the college principal, recording the unnatural death without any allegation of harassment by faculty members.

However, the student's father later lodged a complaint alleging that Dr. Ram and two other staff members had subjected the student to harassment and tortured him, leading him to commit suicide.

Following this, the police booked the accused for abetment of suicide and for offences under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act).

Amid public protest and scrutiny, Dr. Ram and another faculty member Dr. Sangeetha Nambiar, approached a sessions court seeking anticipatory bail.

On April 25, Thalassery Additional Sessions Judge-IV J Vimal denied anticipatory bail to Dr. Ram but granted relief to Dr. Nambiar.

Dr. Ram has now moved the High Court seeking protection from arrest.

In his plea, Dr. Ram has denied all allegations of harassment or abetment on his part.

He has specifically pointed out that the First Information Statement (FIS) lodged by the police based on the college principal's statement, did not contain any such allegations.

Dr. Ram has challenged the complaint filed by Raj's father, contending that it is based on hearsay information and lacks any specific allegation.

According to Dr. Ram, the events preceding the incident showed that Raj was under distress due to financial issues linked to a loan that he obtained through a loan application.

Dr. Ram has claimed that a teacher, whose contact was given as reference for the loan, had been repeatedly contacted by loan recovery operators after Raj defaulted on payment.

This had led to Raj being called to the principal's room where he was questioned in the presence of multiple faculty members. Dr. Ram has claimed that during this meeting in the principal's room, Raj was informed that there is a possibility that a cyber complaint might be registered against him.

In his petition before the High Court, Dr. Ram has argued that while rejecting his pre-arrest bail plea, the sessions court had overlooked the harassment by loan operators as a possible cause of stress leading to Raj's death.

On these, among other grounds, Dr. Ram has sought anticipatory bail, assuring the Court of his willingness to cooperate with the investigation.

The plea has been filed through advocates S Rajeev, V Vinay, MS Aneer, Anilkumar CR, Sarath KP, Dipa V, KS Kiran Krishnan, Akash Cherian Thomas, Azad Sunil, TP Aravind, Maheswar Padickal, Akshara S and Nivedita Rajeev.