Nithin Raj suicide: Kerala HC suspects bid by police to shield accused

The Kerala High Court has questioned the conduct of the police in the investigation into the death of Nithin Raj, a student of Anjarakandy Dental College, stating that the sequence of events raises suspicion that senior officials tried to protect the prime accused, Dr MK Ram.Justice A Badharudeen, on July 22, Wednesday, while hearing a petition filed by Nithin's parents, observed that the manner in which Ram, a former faculty member of the college, was arrested appeared to have paved the way for his release on bail. The court said the mandatory safeguards laid down by the Supreme Court during arrest did not appear to have been followed, raising serious doubts about the police's handling of the case.The court ordered a thorough inquiry into the circumstances that led to Ram securing bail from the Thalassery Special Court dealing with cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. It cautioned that if the police failed to conduct a credible probe, the High Court would consider initiating its own inquiry, which could include scrutiny of the phone records of those allegedly involved.Justice Badharudeen directed the Investigating Officer to appear before the court on Friday with the complete records placed before the Sessions Court at the time of remand. The officer has also been asked to submit a sworn statement explaining whether the Supreme Court's directions on informing an accused of the reasons for arrest were complied with. The High Court further sought a copy of the bail order and called for a report from the Special Court on whether it had verified compliance with the apex court's arrest guidelines before granting bail.The court also cast doubt on the investigation's earlier conclusion that Nithin's death was linked to harassment over app-based loans, indicating that the available materials required closer examination. It further remarked that the decision to replace the original investigation team immediately after criticism from the court gave the impression that attention was being diverted from alleged lapses in the probe.A newly constituted Crime Branch team, headed by Mohanchandran MP,  Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch, Malappuram, formally assumed charge of the investigation on Wednesday, July 22. The officers met members of the previous investigation team at the Kannur Crime Branch office before beginning the fresh inquiry.Dr MK Ram, the principal accused in the death of first-year BDS student Nithin Raj, was arrested by the Kerala Crime Branch from Kodagu, Karnataka, on July 20, after evading police for several months. His arrest followed the Supreme Court's refusal to grant him anticipatory bail.Nithin, a 22-year-old Dalit student from Thiruvananthapuram, died on April 10 after falling from the fifth floor of a college building. Before his death, he allegedly circulated an audio message claiming he had endured sustained caste discrimination, repeated humiliation inside the classroom, intimidation over his academic assessment and offensive remarks targeting his mother. Based on these allegations, police booked Ram under charges of abetment of suicide and relevant provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Another accused, a loan recovery agent from Noida, was arrested separately for allegedly harassing Nithin over borrowed money. The student's death sparked widespread protests and demands for a fair investigation across Kerala.