Top News

Kannur (Kerala), July 27 - The Thalassery court has ordered the main suspect, M.K. Ram, to be held in custody for five days by the crime branch in connection with the suicide of a dental college student. The crime branch filed a petition in a special court under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, seeking the accused's custody for further investigation. M.K. Ram was presented in court, where the prosecution requested his detention for additional inquiry.

The court granted this request, placing the accused in the custody of the crime branch for five days. This case pertains to Nitin Raj, a student from a private dental college located in Anjarakandy, Kannur. His body was discovered on April 10 after falling from a building on the college campus, which is being treated as a suspected suicide.

Investigations revealed that Nitin Raj, belonging to a Scheduled Caste, was allegedly humiliated and threatened by M.K. Ram, the then-head of the dental anatomy department. After being arrested in Karnataka last week, M.K. Ram was released by the special court on the same day, citing a lack of evidence for his arrest.

Expressing dissatisfaction with this development, the Kerala High Court later raised concerns about whether senior police officials were attempting to shield the accused. The High Court also instructed the investigating officer who arrested the accused to appear personally in court. Following this, the crime branch re-arrested M.K. Ram and placed him in judicial custody.

In addition to M.K. Ram, another faculty member, Sangeeta Nambiar K.T., and the hostel warden, Kamalashan V.V., have also been implicated in this case. According to officials, Sangeeta Nambiar has been granted anticipatory bail, while the investigation into Kamalashan's alleged involvement is still ongoing.