Kannur suicide case: Prime accused MK Ram re-arrested after bail

Kannur Police re-arrested MK Ram, prime accused in the suicide abetment case of BDS student Nithin Raj, shortly after he secured bail. The defence alleges the re-arrest is unlawful. A new Crime Branch team will now investigate the case.

The Kannur Police re-arrested MK Ram, the prime accused in the alleged abetment of suicide case related to the death of first-year BDS student RL Nithin Raj of Kannur Dental College, Anjarakandy, shortly after he was granted bail by the Thalassery Principal Sessions Court. The re-arrest took place late Tuesday night.

According to the defence, police forcibly took Ram back into custody immediately after his release on bail, leading to dramatic scenes at the Thalassery court. Defence lawyers returned to the judge's chamber, alleging that the re-arrest was unlawful. Earlier, the Principal Sessions Court had granted bail to Ram after observing that the arrest did not comply with the Supreme Court's guidelines. The court accepted the defence argument that the grounds of arrest lacked clarity, holding that the arrest was legally unsustainable.

New investigation team to probe case

Police have not yet issued a detailed statement regarding the fresh arrest. Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police (SP), Crime Branch, Malappuram, MP Mohanachandran said that Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy SP) Jeevan George has been entrusted with the investigation. He said that further action will be taken as per the directives of the court. He noted that the new investigation teams will record new statements from Nithin Raj's family and will examine the role of loan sharks in connection of his death.

"Dy SP Jeevan George is heading the investigation. An application has been filed before the court seeking the re-arrest of the first accused, M. K. Ram, and further action will be taken in accordance with the court's directions. As the new investigation team has taken over the case, it will record fresh statements from Nithin Raj's family. The team will also examine the alleged role of loan sharks in connection with Nithin Raj's death. It will be checked whether any details have been left out in this case," he said.

Background of the case

Nithin Raj, son of Y Rajan and C R Latha from Thiruvananthapuram, died on April 10. His family alleged that he was subjected to caste-based harassment by faculty members at the college, following which a case of abetment of suicide was registered and the investigation was handed over to the Crime Branch.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)