Kerala: Dalit Dental Student’s Suicide Prime Accused Dr MK Ram Arrested
The arrested accused was identified as M Kondanda Ram, a native of Chittur in Andhra Pradesh.
Kannur: The Kerala Crime Branch on Monday arrested Dr. M.K. Ram, the prime accused in the alleged suicide case of Nithin Raj, a first-year BDS student at Kannur Dental College.
Nithin, 22, was found injured near the administrative block on April 10 and later died at Kannur Medical College Hospital while undergoing treatment. Kannur Crime Branch SP Venugopal told reporters that Ram was currently being interrogated. Once questioning and formalities are completed, he will be taken for a medical examination and presented in court. The arrest comes a week after the Supreme Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea.
Ram was on the run after the incident, moving between various locations in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to evade arrest. A special police team was formed soon after the Supreme Court rejected his anticipatory bail to trace and apprehend him. The apex court, while dismissing his plea, described the professor’s conduct as “inhuman” and noted that he could not escape facing the consequences of his actions.
Following the tragic death of Nithin, his family accused two faculty members of caste discrimination against their son. Alongside Dr. M.K. Ram, they also alleged misconduct by Dr. Sangeetha Nambiar, after which the police registered a case against both.
Dr. Sangeetha was later granted anticipatory bail by the Thalassery court. However, the court, while denying Ram’s plea, stated that his custodial interrogation was needed for the investigating agency to carry out a thorough and comprehensive probe into all aspects of the case. Earlier, Nithin’s father, Rajan, had filed a complaint, leading to a case being registered under relevant sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which was later transferred to the State Crime Branch.
