Protests over suicide

Two days after a student ended  his life in the hostel of an engineering college in Thrissur, clashes broke out between students and the police on Monday over the alleged harassment by college authorities that led to the fatal incident.

Jishnu Pranoy (18), a first-year Computer Science student at the Nehru College of Engineering and Research Centre in Pampady, Thrissur district, was found hanging in the bathroom of his college hostel on Friday. His friends said the suicide followed harassment by an invigilator at a semester examination on Friday, during which Jishnu was reportedly caught copying. They said though Jishnu was not at fault, he was forced to strike out his answer sheet. He later died.

College authorities have clarified that Jishnu had admitted to copying. On Monday, students staged protests with two of them – led by the Congress-affiliated Kerala Students Union and the CPM-affiliated Students Federation of India – turning violent.