Thiruvananthapuram: The family of a BDS student who died after falling from a building at a dental college in Kannur in a suspected suicide case on Wednesday alleged that he was denied timely treatment after the incident.
Nithin Raj RL, a first-year BDS student, was found critically injured near the medical college building after falling from a building on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.
The family alleged that Raj ended his life after caste- and color-related harassment by faculty members.
Speaking to reporters, his sister Rekha said that the college authorities have not yet revealed the details of the treatment provided to him after he was found injured.
She asked: “He was accepted into the medical school for two hours. There was a delay in treatment because his blood type was not determined. How long does it take the medical school to determine his blood type?”
Rekha added that the family does not believe the Foundation’s claims.
She added: “They claim that he was given five units of blood. We want to know what kind of treatment was given to him. The students who saw him said that he only had one leg broken.”
Rekha claimed that no clarification has been given so far by the medical college, which is part of the dental college.
She also denied allegations by college authorities that the family could not be contacted after an issue arose with the loan application.
The college alleged that Raj was pressured after borrowing money through a loan app, and his operators even called one of the teachers to seek repayment.
“If his father was not available on the phone, they should have asked for an alternative contact number,” she said.
“Something fishy happened in the college. Raj did not end his life out of sympathy for the teacher who was disturbed by loan app operators contacting her,” Rekha said.
She further alleged that the college authorities seized Raj’s phone before his death.
She added: “If he had the phone, he could have called us and changed his mind. But they did not give it to him.”
Rekha said the family was aware of the loan issue involving Raj, but alleged that he was harassed by the college faculty.
Earlier, police had registered a case against two faculty members for abetment to suicide under the provisions of the SC/ST Act after allegations that Raj was being harassed because of his caste and complexion.
The two arrested defendants are currently on the run.
Meanwhile, TV channels aired an alleged audio message of Raj in which he alleged that he was being harassed by faculty members and expressed fears of intentionally failing the exam, though he also expressed hope of completing his studies.
A special investigation team probing the case has recorded statements from Raj’s classmates, some of whom also claimed to have faced difficulties from college teachers.
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
