The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) accused Kerala's Left government and police on Tuesday, March 26, of attempting to protect people guilty of the murder of a student at the Kerala government-run College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Wayanad by delaying the case's transfer to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
VD Satheesan, Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, said that by delaying the case's transfer to the CBI, the state administration and police were attempting to destroy evidence in the case, PTI reports.
Sateesan's comments on Facebook came after the father of 20-year-old Sidharthan JS, who was discovered hanging inside the college hostel's bathroom on February 18, met with him at his official residence in the Cantonment House, Thiruvananthapuram.
The opposition leader stated in his post that Sidharthan's father, Jayaprakash, and family were concerned that the alleged murders of the student were being sheltered by the government, police, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) leaders.
Satheesan pledged his full support to Sidharathan's family in their efforts to bring those guilty of the student's death to justice.
He further stated that protests by opposition students, youth, and women's organisations, as well as the pressure of the upcoming election, compelled Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to turn over the inquiry to the CBI.
The attempt to sabotage the case would be opposed at all means, he stated.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan intervened on Monday, March 25, cancelling the college's controversial order to reinstate 33 students who had been suspended earlier in connection with the student's death.
When Khan learned about the incident, he asked the Vice-Chancellor of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Wayanad, PC Saseendran, to reverse the order that reinstated the suspended students for their suspected involvement in Sidharathan's death, according to official sources.
After Sidharthan died, his family and friends said that he was exposed to severe ragging by fellow students, particularly activists from the CPI (M)'s student organisation, the Students' Federation of India (SFI).
As the death sparked a massive political uproar in the state, Chief Minister Vijayan, on March 9, declared a CBI investigation into the incident.
