Student alleges harassment by faculty, commits suicide

Says he was targeted for complaining against professor and was not allowed to take up any art work

CHENNAI, 26/10/2017 : For City : Students from the Government College of Fine Arts staging demonstration at college premises, Egmore in Chennai on Wednesday, demanding action against those responsible for the alleged suicide of student P.Prakash. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

A final-year student of the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai, committed suicide by hanging, in Vellore on Wednesday night. alleging harassment by a college faculty.

P. Prakash, 24, posted his suicide note on his Facebook account. He also left a video recording on his mobile phone.

In the suicide note, he alleged that he was facing “indirect torture” at the hands of Ravikumar, Head of Department (Ceramics). Stating that he was not allowed to take up any art work properly, he claimed that he was always “cornered” by the faculty member.

Prakash claimed he had questioned the faculty member for not taking classes and for not allowing him to complete his art work. The issue was also taken up with the principal of the institution but to no avail. A friend of Prakash said he was depressed over the problems at college and did not attend classes for two weeks.

Prathap, elder brother of Prakash, said in the fourth year of the course, Prakash was working on a human sculpture as he wanted to do something good. “Though he was initially allowed to work on the sculpture, the HoD told him to stop the work mid-way and wanted the sculpture to be pulled down. His artistic works were not displayed well too,” Mr. Prathap claimed.

He said that it was only after a long time that Prakash informed the family about the problems he faced in college. “The HoD made fun of him and insulted him in the presence of other students. The problems started two months ago, and our parents even met the principal, who assured them that he would take care but did not do anything,” he alleged.

Meanwhile, the students of the college staged a sit-in protest on the campus in Chennai demanding action against the principal, the head of the department and another professor who were allegedly responsible for Prakash’s suicide.

They abstained from classes and squatted on the road urging the authorities to dismiss the principal Mathialagan and others. They demanded compensation to the family of the deceased. However, following assurances given by the police and other authorities, the students suspended their agitation.

Counselling for those in distress is available at the State Health Helpline 104 and with Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre’s helpline 044 2464 0050.