Bengaluru: Protests over the suicide of a 21-year-old BTech student entered the third day at the Amrita School of Engineering in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Fourth-year student Sri Harsha ended his life by jumping off the seventh floor of the college building on Monday.
The students, who have alleged that he was being harassed by the college authorities, demonstrated in the college premises. Hundreds of students took part in the protest with placards and banners demanding #JusticeForHarsha.
"We demand that all the accused be produced before the court and punished and Amma (spiritual leader Amritanandamayi) should be here to witness the protest and hear our problems," said Arvind Chittiprolu, a fourth-year student.
Harsha was suspended from college after he was accused of vandalising college property during a protest on campus in September.
"The students had protested against bad food in the hostel, following which the management had declared a 20-day holiday. During the holidays, 46 students were suspended and 12 rusticated. Harsha and I were among those who were called after this and warned that our career is going to be over. They even threatened to take back the offer letters we received during campus placement. Harsha was not part of any of this and was wrongly accused," said Kamal Mohan Addepally, another student.
"When the meeting was happening on Monday, they called me too. They didn't have any evidence. They were only blackmailing. They asked us to give names or we would be suspended. Further, they asked us to show evidence to prove that we are innocent. Harsha's father was also here on the day. He was asked to stand outside the gate. Few minutes after the meeting, Harsha jumped to death," said Sai Vardhan, a classmate of Harsha.
The police have registered a case under the section of abetment to suicide and destroying evidence. 10 members of the disciplinary committee of the college that enquired into the case of vandalism on campus, including the Dean Dhanaraj Swamy, have been named in the case.
"As soon as he fell, they washed off the blood stains on the spot. We don't know if they have the CCTV footage or destroyed them. Instead of using a vehicle on campus to take him to the hospital, they waited for ambulance and when the police asked, the faculty said he accidentally fell from the first floor," said Ram Sameer, a third-year student.
The college management has announced a week's leave while the students continue their protest refusing to disperse. The students have announced that they will go on a hunger strike if the management does not respond to their demands.
"We want to settle. We have reached out to them multiple times. But we can't say more as the senior most authorities are not campus," said Gopalakrishnan, who is handling the campus at present.
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