File photo of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan | (Pic: Express) 
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Kerala veterinary university student death: Governor Khan suspends varsity's VC

The police, which had initially registered a case of unnatural death, had later booked 12 students for various offences

EdexLive Desk

Today, Saturday, March 2, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is the Chancellor of state universities in Kerala, suspended Prof (Dr) M R Saseendranath, Vice-Chancellor of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Wayanad, in connection with the recent death of a student studying at the varsity, stated a report in PTI

The governor's order of suspension stated that the report submitted by the VC was "a testimony to the gross dereliction of duty on the part of the Vice Chancellor" during the developments that led to the death of 20-year-old Siddharthan on February 18.

"The indifferent, negligent and callous attitude of the VC towards his duties and responsibilities, especially in the background of this unfortunate incident is revealed from his report dated February 28," the governor said and ordered a judicial probe into the student's death.

The governor suggested a probe by a sitting or retired judge of the high court or Supreme Court and said, "The Registrar General, High Court of Kerala will be requested in due course."

What happened?
A second-year Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry student, Siddharthan, was found hanging in the bathroom of his hostel on February 18.

His father stated that as per the postmortem report, his son's body had three days' worth of injuries and an empty stomach, which indicated that he was brutally beaten up and not given any food.

Till the evening of March 1, 11 people were arrested. 

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