Kerala vet student death: Governor appoints inquiry commission; report within 3 months

Sidharthan, a second-year student of the BVSc and AH programme, was found dead in the university’s men’s hostel on 18 February.

It would later come to light that he underwent ragging at the hands of his seniors.

The Governor initially visited the bereaved family. Subsequently, Sidharthan’s father visited the Governor after alleging that the state government delayed the CBI inquiry despite announcing it.

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Why an inquiry commission?

As per a communique from the Governor’s Secretariat, the report furnished by the KVASU vice-chancellor and registrar prima facie showed serious administrative lapses on the side of the university authorities and officers in taking timely action in the matter.

Thus, he “found it necessary to have an inquiry conducted into the administrative lapses, the failure of authorities/officers to prevent ragging and other criminal activities in the university campus”, said the communique.

Former Judge Hariprasad A called on the Governor on Thursday.

Following this, the Governor’s Secretariat requested the Kerala High Court to provide the services of a sitting judge to conduct an inquiry.

However, the court forwarded a list of retired judges who could be appointed to the inquiry commission.

It was from this list that the Governor picked Hariprasad.

As per the communique, the commission was expected to “conduct an inquiry into the lapses, omissions about the administration of the campus and hostel, into the omissions or refusal, if any, on the part of authorities/officers of the University in performing their duties in terms of the Act, Statutes, Regulations and the Anti Ragging Regulations issued by the UGC”.

In addition, the commission would also report on the failures, if any, on the part of the then-vice chancellor Dr MR Saseendranath in preventing the incident.

The Governor earlier suspended Saseendranath in the wake of the Siddharthan incident and appointed Dr PC Saseendran as the VC.

Saseendran stepped down from the post a couple of days ago, citing personal reasons.

On Wednesday, the Governor appointed Anil KS — a professor of the Department of Livestock Production Management at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Mannuthy in the Thrissur district — as the officiating VC of KVASU.

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Terms of reference

As per the terms of reference fixed for the panel:

• The commission shall inquire into the lapses in the administration that resulted in the tragic death of Sidharthan.
• It shall also inquire into the alleged lapses on the part of university authorities and officers — including that of the then-vice chancellor and the dean, and fix the responsibility on the officers or authorities of the university for omissions, lapses, if any which led to the tragic incident.
• The commission shall inquire into the lapses in the administration on the part of university authorities, officers, or officials in taking actions before and after the offence.
• Finally, the panel shall suggest preventive measures to avert similar incidents in future.

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Report within 3 months

According to the Governor, the commission “shall expedite the inquiry and submit its inquiry report at the earliest and preferably within three months with effect from the date of its first sitting of inquiry”.

At the same time, it has been specified that all the expenses for the commission — including remuneration, hospitality, and conveyance — would be borne by the university.

It was the other day that the state government expedited the process of handing over the proposal for a CBI investigation relating to Sidharthan’s death.

This was after the family and the Opposition levelled accusations of vested interests tampering with evidence after delaying the procedures for the CBI inquiry.

The Home Department, which suspended three officials citing procedural lapses in intimating the CBI, also sent personnel of the rank of deputy superintendent of police to the office of the Department of Personnel and Training (DPT) in New Delhi.

The officer, Sreekanth S, handed over the proposal for a CBI investigation along with all the relevant documents to the DPT.

Now, the department will decide whether a CBI inquiry is needed in the case.

(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)