"You brutes will rot in hell for destroying my life. You'll soon see your sisters too kill themselves the way I did." These are the words from the suicide note of a student of University College Thiruvananthapuram. A first-year BSc student, she had tried to end her life on May 3, alleging harassment by the SFI unionists in the college. She also alleged that the harassment had affected her studies.
The suicide note that names two of her classmates for allegedly harassing her, also states that the SFI unionists compelled her to attend a secretariat march even when she was on her periods. "During the march, I was verbally abused and a few SFI members tried to touch me. I even complained to the principal about the same. Not only did he refuse to take any action, but he also ignored my complaint," reads the note, which is addressed to her mother.
Despite this, on May 6, she told the Thiruvananthapuram District Court that no one was responsible for her attempt to commit suicide and that she was in despair for missing classes. But at the same time, the Congress-affiliated Kerala Students' Union has alleged that the girl has withdrawn her accusations because her mother and sister were threatened by local CPM members. "I've been to the girl's house. She lives with her mother and her sister. Her father works abroad. Right after her suicide attempt, they were constantly tortured by the local CPM goons. So naturally, they got scared and the girl withdrew her complaint," says J S Akhil, National Executive Member NSUI. He is also a former syndicate member of Kerala University. "The girl, who is excellent in studies, tried to end her life. There has to be something that affected her deeply for her to think of something like this," he adds.
He added that such incidents of harassment are quite common in the college, which ranks 23rd according to the latest NIRF rankings. "The SFI unionists here have always harassed the students. There have been incidents of sexual harassments as well. They also have a torture room inside the campus, where the students are beaten up. They easily get away with the complaints too, thanks to their political connections," says Akhil. Following this incident, he has also filed a case with the Kerala State Human Rights Commission and the DGP, demanding a probe.
Following the same, a few other female students have also messaged Akhil, raising allegations against the SFI unionists. A few messages, which were allegedly written by female students say that alcohol and drug abuse is also rampant in the campus and that the principal doesn't bother about it.
SFI, at the same time, categorically denied all allegations. "Ours is an organisation that has always stood by the students. We have been protesting against torture rooms, especially after the Jishnu Pranoy incident. The student has also said that she has nothing against SFI. We've come to know that her family was tortured by the KSU. This is nothing, but KSU's attempt to defame us," says Riyas Wahab, District Secretary, SFI Thiruvananthapuram.
