The University of Kerala has instituted a probe into the recovery of answer books from the house of University College student Sivarenjith who has been arrested for an attempt to murder his college-mate.
Vice Chancellor V.P. Mahadevan Pillai on Monday directed the Controller of Examinations to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident. Following a meeting of senior university officials, Dr. Pillai told mediapersons that the seizure of numerous answer sheets from a student’s house pointed to a lapse of highly serious nature on the part of the college.
“It is the responsibility of colleges, particularly Principals, to ensure security of the answer papers that have been issued to the respective examination centres,” he said.
He added that the recent examinations that were held at the college in recent times will be scrutinised. The entire stock of answer books at the university will be examined as part of the probe, he added.
Helplessness
Responding to a question, the Vice Chancellor expressed helplessness in assuming a direct role in the college’s functioning in the aftermath of the violent incident. “The university has limited powers in directly intervening in the affairs of a government college as compared to private institutions. The Directorate of Collegiate Education will be able to effectively impose remedial measures in this situation,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor pointed out that no seal has gone missing from the university and that the seal purportedly of the Director of Physical Education which was allegedly used by the accused is bound to be a fake one.The Kerala University Teachers Organisation demonstrated at the varsity premises demanding an impartial probe into the incident.
Meanwhile, seven of the accused, Sivarenjith, A.N. Nazeem, Adwaith, Amar, Ibrahim, Aromal and Adhil, were suspended indefinitely by the College Council. Disciplinary action will also be initiated against other students who were found to be responsible, if the need arose.
Additional Director of Collegiate Education K.K. Suma, who has been assigned by the Higher Education Department to conduct an inquiry, visited the college and took stock of the situation. Following a discussion with the Principal and other senior officials, Dr. Suma said that the college union office will be closed down and converted to a classroom.
No lapse
She added that there was no lapse on the part of the Principal in-charge in preventing the attack on the final-year student.
The college union office, which purportedly functioned as the unit committee office of the Students Federation of India (SFI), was soon emptied.
Notably, college authorities recovered several answer sheets and a seal of an assistant professor while rummaging through the articles that were dumped in the room.
The day also witnessed numerous demonstrations taken out by various organisations on the issue. The Kerala Students Union (KSU) and Youth Congress led three agitations, including one outside the official residence of Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel. They also took out another outside the Kerala University headquarters. An attempt made by a group led by KSU State president K.M. Abhijith to enter the University College premises was thwarted by a group of college teachers and the police.
Demonstrations
Demonstrations taken out to University College by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) also turned violent, leaving many agitators injured.
