Abrupt closure of ITI leaves students, staff worried

Alleged threat on life of its secretary said to be reason for closure

Staff members of Sri Rameshwara Industrial Training Institute at Arsikere staging a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Hassan on Thursday.— Photo: Prakash Hassan

Following an alleged threat to the life of the secretary of a training institute, the management has locked up the institution at Arsikere for the last two weeks, leaving about 189 students and 14 staff members in a quandary.

Meanwhile, the closure of Sri Rameshwara Industrial Training Institute, an aided institution, has prompted the staff members stage a protest against the management.

The staff staged a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Thursday. Speaking to presspersons, the protesters said S.M. Marulasiddappa, secretary of the trust that runs the institute, had locked up the institute, without informing the staff members. Lingaraju, a teaching staff, said the secretary had taken a unilateral decision to lock up the institute and he had written to the Department of Employment and Training to close down the institute. “We have been protesting for the last four-five days, but the secretary has not opened the institute. The students and parents are worried over the development,” he said.

When

The Hindu contacted Mr. Marulasiddappa, he said he had decided to close down the institute as the staff had conspired to murder him. “Recently, Shimoga police informed me that Sachin Kumar, a staff member in the institute, had contacted Javed, an accused in many criminal cases, at a prison in Shivamogga and sought the services of his men to kill me. Based on the information received from the Shivamogga police, I filed a complaint with the Arsikere police against Sachin Kumar on August 3,” he said. Following his complaint, the police took Sachin Kumar to custody. However, he was later released on bail. Mr. Marulasiddapapa said, during the police interrogation, Sachin Kumar had claimed that other staff members in the institute were also involved in the conspiracy. “How can I run the institute with the staff members, who want to kill me?” he asked. The secretary said, he had written to the commissioner of DET to close down the institution and shift the students, who had been allotted to it through centralised counselling, to other colleges. “Students will not suffer. They were allotted to the college from the department. They will get seats elsewhere,” he said.

Students will not suffer as they will be shifted to other institutions.

S.M. Marulasiddappa,

Secretary, Sri Rameshwara Industrial Training Institute,

Arsikere