Students of Amrita School of Engineering, where a 22-year-old student allegedly ended his life on Monday, continued to protest on Tuesday. The deceased, Sri Harsha, was allegedly facing harassment from the college management.
Although the college management declared a holiday for the students after the incident, they refused to go on leave and started the protest.
One of the students said they have two main demands: punishment for the members of the disciplinary committee as per the law, and that the chancellor of the university — Mata Amritanandamayi — visit the college and look into their grievances.
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“There is lack of adequate water supply in the hostel and the quality of food is very poor. We want the college management to address this at the earliest,” a student said.
Contrary to claims by the college management that Sri Harsha, the final year student, was not suspended, the students maintained that he was suspended. The college was not available for comment.
The issue started when there was no water in the hostel for more than 15 hours last week. Police sources said Sri Harsha, along with other students, brought this to the notice of the management. The management, which had declared holidays for a few days owing to water shortage, accused the students of indulging in violence and barred Sri Harsha from entering the college. He had been asked to appear before the disciplinary committee.
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While they acknowledged that they had not allowed the student to attend classes, the college management maintained that he was not suspended.
The parents of the student had also come to the college around the same time, but were reportedly not allowed inside. The students also alleged that the management tried to misguide the parents and said that he had slipped from the college building.