A Dalit student at Kannur Dental College received 96 calls from online loan app agents the day before his death, police revealed. He faced alleged caste discrimination from college faculty and pressure from loan recovery. His family suspects foul play in the incident.
Nithin Raj R L, a 22-year-old Dalit student from Uzhamalakkal village in Thiruvananthapuram, died after falling from a building on the Kannur Dental College campus in Anjarakandy, Kannur district, on Friday. He had taken a Rs 13,500 loan from an online loan app in February, which demanded Rs 19,000 repayment within a month despite exorbitant interest. He paid only Rs 1,000 on April 6.
The day before his death, loan agents called or messaged him 96 times with threats. One of his teachers, not among those booked, received 26 such calls and reported it to principal Vinod Moni the next day. The principal summoned Nithin; ten minutes after leaving the chamber, he jumped from the building.
Kannur City Police Commissioner Nidhinraj P said, "We assumed that he was burdened by the feeling that he had caused trouble for his teacher. That might have become another factor forcing him to take the extreme step. He had also faced discrimination and humiliation." Police filed a case for abetment to suicide and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against two faculty members, including a department head.
The Kerala University of Health Sciences ordered a high-level probe on Tuesday. Vice Chancellor Dr Mohanan Kunnummel stated, "A four-member team will probe the incident and the college’s background. There will be strong action." Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called it an "unforgivable crime" and stood with the family. Opposition leader V D Satheesan handed over Rs 5 lakh for a new house for the family.
