3 min readThiruvanananthapuramUpdated: Apr 14, 2026 11:05 AM IST
After claims emerged following the death of a Dalit medical student in Kerala’s Kannur district that he was allegedly humiliated based on his caste and complexion by members of the college faculty, other students have made similar allegations.
Nithin Raj R L (22), who hailed from Uzhamalakkal village in Thiruvananthapuram, died after a fall from a building at the Kannur Dental College campus in the Anjarakandy area of Kannur district on Friday. The first-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) student was rushed to the medical college hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Police have registered a case under BNS section 108 (abetment of suicide) and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Two college faculty members have been named as accused in the case. The college management has suspended them.
On Monday, Congress-linked students’ union KSU and RSS-linked ABVP took out marches to the college campus, demanding stern action against the teachers facing charges.
This came after an audio clip emerged on Sunday in which Nithin Raj is purportedly heard saying that a teacher openly insulted, humiliated and threatened him. Later, Nithin’s sister, Nikitha, alleged that her brother had been repeatedly subjected to insults over his complexion, caste and the occupation of his parents, who are daily wage workers.
The college students’ union chairperson, Aromal, claimed the union had in the past received complaints against one of the booked faculty members, who is the head of a department at the college. “The matter had been taken up by the principal, and the (faculty member) was kept away from duty for some time, but he was reinstated later,” Aromal claimed.
Another student, Astha, who was a classmate of Nithin’s, alleged that the head of the department used to insult all students in class “over their caste and colour”. “He found pleasure in body-shaming the students. Our seniors, too, had faced the same experience,” the student alleged, adding that the faculty member “wanted to create a climate of fear in the classroom”.
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The college management, which suspended the two faculty members and ordered an inquiry, could not be reached for comment. The college principal did not respond to requests for comment either.
The Kannur City Police Commissioner on Sunday formed a special investigation team headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kannur) Hariprasad to probe the case. He said that the police’s preliminary investigation showed Nithin was also under pressure from agents of an online app from which the student had purportedly taken a loan. Police claimed that agents of the lender allegedly called and threatened Nithin as well as a faculty member, who is not among those booked following his death.
While police registered an abetment of suicide case following Nithin’s death, his family have expressed suspicion that there may be foul play involved. On Monday, police said they have intensified their probe.
