Dalit scholar suicide: Students rise in protest, seek thorough probe

Chennai: The death of Dalit research scholar Muthukrishnan of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi has evoked protests in many campuses across the state.

In University of Madras, Students Union - University of Madras held a protest condemning the death of research scholar from Tamil Nadu at the university campus on Tuesday. The students held noose distributing protest at the campus.
“Muthukrishnan in his Facebook posts clearly mentioned about the partial treatment he received at JNU. It is yet another incident of denying education to a student hailing from oppressed section of the society. So, we conducted the noose distribution protest condemning the central government.”

They also demanded a judicial probe into Muthukrishnan’s death. Democratic Youth Federation of India’s state president M. Senthil has demanded an inquiry to find out the reason for his death.

“There are very few Dalit students pursuing higher education. But it is worrying sign that more Dalit students are committing suicide in the university campuses. We need to pass Rohith Vemula act to punish those who discriminate Dalit students,” he urged. “While preventing such deaths in campuses, the government should also take steps to do away the caste discrimination in educational institutions,” he demanded.