FRAYED TEMPERS: Students interacting with relatives of K. Jitender Reddy, who committed suicide on Saturday. In the foreground is the college bus damaged by students during a protest in Nalgonda on Wednesday. — Photo: Nagara Gopal

NALGONDA: Alleged suicide by an engineering student K. Jitender Reddy five days ago triggered protests at Swamy Ramananda Tirtha Institute of Science and Technology (SRTIST) near here on Wednesday.

Demanding that the college management dismiss an Assistant Professor (Mechanical) and the Head Of the Department for their role in abetting the student to resort to the act, students staged dharna in front of the college, which opened after Dasara holidays. They placed the student's portrait and his belongings at the main gate and raised slogans against the management.

Jitender Reddy, the lone son of a farmer Venkat Reddy of Timmannagudem in Kanagal mandal, was studying third year of mechanical engineering. He reportedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a train near Tipparthy on Saturday.

Jitender's father told reporters that the college management, especially the Assistant Professor, had harassed his son. "We scolded the management when it failed to attend to my son, who had been injured during a kabaddi match held in the college a year ago. They nursed a grudge against him and started harassing my son," Mr. Venkat Reddy said.

Irate students smashed the panes of college buses parked on the premises. Police were called as the situation was going out of hand.

Nalgonda DSP Chandrakanth Reddy said cases were booked against the Principal, Head of the Department and the Assistant Professor. He said another case was booked against the students for smashing the panes of the buses.

Inquiry ordered

Meanwhile, Principal Talla Venkat Reddy told The Hindu that a thorough inquiry would be ordered to ascertain the reasons that led to the suicide of the student.

"We don't target anyone. As part of a routine exercise, we issued a letter to the student suggesting that he be regular for classes," he said adding that all aspects would be looked into by a team to be appointed by him.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail