Amrita college suicide: College shut till November 4, students forced to end protest

Death

In an emotionally charged meeting with the management, students put forward many demands. But not much progress was made.

Theja Ram

Late on Thursday night, dejected students of Amrita School of Engineering in Bengaluru rolled up posters and put down the placards they had held as they sat in protest demanding justice for the death of a fellow student – Sri Harsha. Harsha had killed himself in the campus on Monday after walking out of an inquiry conducted by the college’s 10-member disciplinary committee. Students began protesting soon after Harsha’s death and demanded that members of the disciplinary committee be removed immediately. After four days of protests, the Dean of Engineering, Amrita University – Dr Sasangan Ramanathan, and two other members of the college’s management arrived in Bengaluru to conduct talks with the students. Student representatives told TNM that the talks were inconclusive and they were informed that the college would be shut till November 4. Those living in hostels were asked to leave. Sri Harsha was accused of vandalizing a CCTV camera on the night of September 23, when protests broke out in the campus. Students, who were angered by Director Dhanaraj Swamy’s alleged apathy towards their demands for their basic right to food and water, had vandalized seven buses, a window of a provision shop and one CCTV camera. What happened inside the disciplinary committee meeting on October 21 On October 21, Sri Harsha was called in for inquiry the second time. The disciplinary committee reportedly had screenshot of a picture Harsha had allegedly put up on Snapchat. “When the vandalism occurred, Harsha had taken a picture of the CCTV camera and had put it up on Snapchat. The committee learnt of this somehow and that’s why he was called for an inquiry. He told the committee that another student had informed him the name of the person who had vandalized the camera. Harsha strongly denied damaging college property,” one of the students, who was present at the inquiry on October 21 with Harsha told TNM. The student says that the faculty members threatened to stop Harsha from attending placements and also suspend him for a year if he did not reveal the name of the person who vandalised the camera.  “There were so many rumors and so many names were being taken. Harsha had informed them that I had spoken to them about one such rumor. But the management wanted me to give the person's name in writing. They threatened to rusticate me and I was forced to name the student we had heard rumors about. Though I was not sure of it," the student added. It is after this meeting that Harsha killed himself even as his father was waiting at the college's gate for him. Protests erupted soon after and students demanded that the Chancellor Amritanandamayi address the issue personally.  What happened in the negotiation meeting Hopeful that their demands would be met, 10 student representatives met faculty members of the Bengaluru campus and the three-member management team at around 7.30 pm on Thursday. Emotions ran high after the meeting was over as dejected student representatives walked out with tears in their eyes. The students’ primary demand was the removal of members of the disciplinary committee. This was allegedly met with stiff resistance from the college management.  “We told them that students feel threatened to walk into a class room and know that those faculty members would target them for speaking up. But the Dean told us that he cannot infringe on employee rights and that no action could be taken against the DISCO until they are proven guilty. We tried to negotiate by saying that the 10 accused must not be allowed inside the campus until the investigation is over but the management did not agree to that either,” one of the students, who attended the meeting told TNM. Another demand was for a new disciplinary committee with students representatives and a counsellor to ensure that the committee does not mentally harass students. Students also demanded that the minutes of the discipinary committee meeting be recorded in addition to video-taping each meeting. They also demanded that these minutes and videos must be made accessible to students in question and their parents or guardians on request. “They did not agree to this either. When we read out our demands, our last demand was that good quality food be provided and that those living in hostels must get 24 hour water supply. They agreed to give us proper food and water and also to form a student body and a committee with four student representatives to decide the new menu for the mess. Apart from this, nothing much was agreed on," another student, who was present at the meeting said. The Dean Sasangan Ramanathan addressed the protesting students after the meeting and informed them that the college would be shut until November 4. "We are calling off the protest until November 4. If any of the accused enter college when we come back, we will protest again,” the student said. By 11 pm, the protestors had dispersed. The Mathura Block, where students had protested for four days was finally empty. “We all shed tears. We are all very emotional right now. We feel helpless and hopeless. What is the guarantee that anything will change? We will keep fighting,” the student added. 

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Income Tax office in Bengaluru receives fake bomb threat call, security stepped up

Security

Police officials searched the premises for two hours after the hoax threat was received late on Wednesday night.

TNM Staff

A hoax bomb threat caused panic at the Income Tax Department, Karnataka and Goa region office at Infantry Road in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Police officials searched the premises for two hours after the hoax threat was received late on Wednesday night.  As per Deccan Chronicle, an email was sent to the Deputy Commissioner, Income Tax at around 10:45 pm on Wednesday after which a bomb disposal squad and a dog squad was pressed into service to search the offices on Infantry Road.  The email was sent by a person who identified himself as Govind, who claimed that there was a bomb in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) building which could set off any time.  Commercial Street police officers were alerted about the email and after a two-hour search involving a bomb squad and a dog squad, police revealed that the email was a hoax.  However, Income Tax employees hesitated to enter the building on Thursday morning when they turned up for work. Senior police officials had to give them assurances to enter their offices and resume work. Police officials also believe that the threat is the work of an insider. Cyber Crime police officials will attempt to track the IP address of the person who sent the email, Times of India reported. Incidentally, Wednesday was the last day in office for DCP (East) Rahul Kumar Shaharpurwad and police officials planned to meet him before his transfer was formalised. However, the hoax threat meant that officials including Rahul had to rush to the spot to oversee the operations.  As a precautionary measure, police installed a metal detector at the entrance on Thursday and subjected workers arriving to work to checks.

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New Karnataka Speaker can make fresh call on rebel MLAs: Solicitor General tells SC

Politics

The top court was hearing the plea of 17 Karnataka MLAs, challenging their disqualification.

IANS

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, in New Delhi on Thursday, told the Supreme Court that new Karnataka Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri had no difficulty in hearing aggrieved MLAs and taking a fresh call. "We have no difficulty in hearing them all (disqualified MLAs) and take a fresh call," Mehta told a Bench of Justices N.V. Ramana, Sanjiv Khanna and Krishna Murari. Mehta was representing the office of the Speaker. The top court was hearing the plea of 17 Karnataka MLAs, challenging their disqualification. In July, then Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar disqualified them, rejecting resignations tendered by them. Those MLAs had remained absent from the House on July 23 when former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy put the confidence motion to vote. The disqualified legislators had moved the top court, challenging the Speaker's action saying it was in gross violation of the apex court orders, and illegal and unconstitutional. Under the scheme of the Constitution, a lawmaker had a right to resign and the Speaker should accept that, Mehta submitted. "Under the scheme of the Constitution, as I have read, a legislator has the right to resign. Except the contingency provided in Article 190(3), there is no room for resignation being rejected," Mehta said. Article 190(3) of the Constitution envisages that the Speaker or the Chairman of the legislature has to only ascertain whether the resignation of a lawmaker is voluntary and genuine, and if not, he will not accept such resignations. Appearing for the disqualified MLAs, senior advocate V. Giri told the Bench that the order passed by the then Speaker couldn't be interfered with on procedural irregularities but it could be interfered with on the ground of violation of natural justice.  Senior Advocate Giri also questioned the hurry to decide the disqualification petition. Appearing for Kumaraswamy, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan said the resignation was a privilege granted to MLAs subject to the Speaker's call. Stressing that defection is the biggest evil in elections, Dhavan said could the Speaker ignore material before him, which made it obvious that something was wrong with the resignations.  Rajeev Dhavan also raised the issue related to absence of disqualified MLAs from party meetings and their presence in hotels hobnobbing with BJP leaders. Arguments will continue on Friday.

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K'taka rains: Holiday declared for schools and colleges in Dakshina Kannada

Weather

The decision was taken after a red warning was issued till Saturday in the three coastal districts of Karnataka.

TNM Staff

Image for representation

The Dakshina Kannada district administration has declared Friday a holiday for schools and colleges in the coastal district. The decision was taken after a red warning was issued till Saturday in the three coastal districts of Karnataka - Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada - amid continous rainfall over the past week. "Due to depression in Arabian Sea, a red warning was issued by the IMD for Dakshina Kannada district. There is possibility of cyclone in Arabian Sea and if this intensifies, there could be more rains", read a notification issued by Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sindhu Rupesh. District officials have been asked to be on high alert in the next few days. Earlier in the day, the district administration in Dakshina Kannada warned fishermen not to venture out in the sea. Tourists have also been asked to refrain from visiting the beaches in the district. Heavy to very heavy rainfall was reported in coastal Karnataka over the last 24 hours. Widespread rainfall has been forecast for Friday and Saturday, dampening preparations for Deepavali celebrations in the region. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) predicted high waves in the range of 3 to 3.2 metres between Thursday and Saturday along the coast of Karnataka from Mangaluru to Karwar. The fresh spell of rains since October 18 has partially damaged 33 houses while no loss of life has been reported so far in the district, the DC Sindhu Rupesh said. Residents of the district can contact the district administration on the toll-free number 1077 in the event of an emergency.   

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Apathy and simmering anger: Events that led to Amrita college student Harsha’s death

Protests

Since 2017, students have been protesting over a lack of sufficient water and the poor quality of hostel food.

Soumya Chatterjee

For the fourth day in a row, scores of students sat in protest at the Amrita School of Engineering campus in Bengaluru. They were demanding action against those who allegedly harassed their friend and classmate, 21-year-old Harsha Sri, a fourth-year engineering student who killed himself on the afternoon of October 21. It was on this day that Harsha was called into a disciplinary hearing after he was accused of vandalism at the college. The disciplinary committee wanted Harsha to ‘confess’ his involvement in an incident of vandalism on September 23, after agitated students broke windshields and windows of seven college buses, students claimed. The alleged vandalism also included breaking the glass frame of a provision store and a CCTV camera.  Though Harsha’s family and friends do not clearly know what happened during his hearing with the disciplinary committee on October 21, whatever transpired behind those doors allegedly led to the student’s death. However, it is now clear that the students’ anger against the management had been simmering for months and what transpired on September 23 was a culmination of multiple events.   What led to the vandalism? Beginning in 2017, students in the college have been protesting against the management over the lack of sufficient water and the poor quality of food served in the hostel. A student representative who helped lead the protests and alleges that he was also harassed, told TNM, “We pay Rs 85,000 for hostel fees each year. For that amount, we don't even get basic amenities like edible food and water. There have been numerous days where we did not even have water in our taps or to flush our toilets. For every floor which houses 150 students, we had to manage with one emergency water line.” Though the students have repeatedly complained to the institute’s management since 2017, their protests have been in vain, the student leader said. “We would gather in numbers and walk from the hostel to the director’s quarters. Every time, the director would just ask us to submit a letter and say the issues would be resolved. But there was no change.”  “As exams approached, we would naturally have to end the protests. But even in those times, the institute did not pay heed to our demands,” he added.  The student leader alleged that in the last couple of weeks, the quality of the college hostel food had drastically deteriorated. That’s when they decided to take their concerns to the management again.  “On 22nd September night, we joined together to meet the director again. We had been told that there is a shortage of water in the entire city and that the college was unable to arrange for more. We can understand the situation in summer, but in the monsoon, the situation did not improve, even though we have a rainwater harvesting system. Moreover, while we don’t have any water, the director and the principal who stay on the same campus have water 24x7.” But on September 23, the situation worsened after college director Dhanraj offered a bizarre take on the student’s woes, including their complaints on the deteriorating quality of the hostel food. The students were told to assemble in the Sudhamani Hall of the college as Dhanraj was planning to address them himself. But the students were shocked when they heard their college director’s words.  “Until then, we had respect for Dhanraj sir, but on that day, he spoke  The student representative said, “Till then, we all used to respect Dhanraj sir, but that day he spoke in a wayward manner. Even a drunk person wouldn't speak like this. He said that even when Chandrayaan-2’s mission failed, we did not criticise the scientists but supported them. Similarly he asked us to support college authorities for failing to provide us with basic amenities.” Dhanraj also seemingly told the students that “in the olden days, people used to manage without water” and clean plates with leaves, the student said.  In another comparison, Dhanraj suggested that the global depreciation of the rupee was also a reason behind the issues at the college, and there was no remedy to the situation. The student said, “When we expressed our displeasure, he called us a ‘nuisance’ and said that ‘you can do whatever you want’ as he headed back to his quarters. This was not received well by some of us.” Some of the students followed Dhanraj to try and talk to him as he walked back to his quarters to try, but Dhanraj ignored the students, the student leader said. However at that point, he admits, the situation went out of control.  “Some among us decided that they would break the windows of the buses and a few others joined. But we stopped them and asked them not to resort to vandalism,” he added. The following day, all the hostel students were told to leave the premises indefinitely. They would only be allowed back in mid-October.  The college is one of the many institutions run by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham under Kerala-based spiritual leader Amritanandamayi. The college in Bengaluru has 2,000-plus students primarily in BTech and around 200 from MTech and MBA courses.   Harassment and torture Once the students returned to college, as many as 12 of them were rusticated or suspended for “a year without any proof,” they alleged.  The students were questioned and allegedly harassed by a 10-member disciplinary committee.  These 10 include Director Dhanaraj Swamy, Rakesh SG, a lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department, Bhaskar BL from the Chemistry Department, Ravi Kumar from the Mechanical Engineering Department, Ramesh TK from the ECE Department, Nipun Kumar and Amudha from the CSE Department, Venkatesh B from the Math Department, Nagaraja SR, the HOD of the Mechanical Engineering Department and Murty NS, the HOD of ECE Department. All of them have now been booked under Section 306 (abetment of suicide)  and 201 (disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code by local police. “Even though they knew I did not do anything, they said they would sabotage by career and cancel my job offers. They accused me of breaking one CCTV camera, even though they knew I was innocent,” the student representative alleged.  “They reduced me to tears and told me to give up the names of other people, as if they were interrogating criminals. Because of me, the college has gotten many appreciation letters, but now they were saying his grades would be worthless. Luckily for me, my father supported me and told me not to worry.”  The student representative said, “Even though they knew I did not do anything, they said they would sabotage my career and cancel my job offers for apparently breaking one CCTV camera even though they knew I was innocent. They reduced me to tears and told me to take names of other people as if they were interrogating criminals. Think of these, because of me the college had got many appreciation letters but then said ‘what will you do with your grades?’. Luckily for me, my father supported me telling me not to worry.” He added, “They forced our parents to come to the college and then would not let them enter the premises. After all that, they told me and others, ‘we know you did not do anything.’” Students and family have described Harsha was shy and dedicated to his studies. “Harsha was the one who would mostly be in the library. Before entering the committee room, he had told his friends that he would join that for a joint study session,” the student said.       

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‘Amrita college is responsible for my son’s death’: Sri Harsha’s father speaks out

Death

On October 21, when Vijay Kumar rushed to the hospital, he saw Harsha’s body on a stretcher at the at the gate of the hospital.

Dhanya Rajendran

      Every evening, Harsha Sri used to write about his day in a notes app on his phone. Sometimes, it would be just one word to describe how his day went. On October 14, he wrote: ‘Threatened’. And the next day, October 15, he wrote: ‘Blamed’. The notes app was never updated with a post again. Six days later, the fourth year Electronics and Communication Engineering student at the Amrita School of Engineering in Bengaluru killed himself. “I hold the college responsible for my son’s death. He was a sensitive boy. He was hoping to get a placement soon. But now, he is no more,” Harsha’s father G Vijay Bhaskar tells TNM. An employee of a private company in Visakhapatnam, Vijay Bhaskar, his wife Rama Devi, daughter Sushmita, and son Harsha had a memorable time during the Dasara holidays this year. The family had moved into a new home last year, and bought a new television among other things for their house. Though the celebrations were on in the house and the family went for their regular temple visits, there was a sliver of a worry.  On September 23, the college had witnessed unrest, with students who were angry with the management for not providing them good food and water, participating in protests. Windscreens and windows of seven college-owned buses, and a CCTV camera, had been damaged in the ruckus. Almost all students in the hostels were asked to vacate immediately following the incidents of vandalism. Harsha, like all his friends, went back to his hometown, and soon the Dasara holidays started. On October 13, Harsha got a call from Ravi Kumar, an assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering department. “He said that Harsha and I should come to the college the next day. When I told him that I was not in town, he said it’s fine, and that they would call me if needed.” On October 14, when Harsha went back to college, he was not allowed to enter the campus or the hostel. “My son was worried and he called me,” Vijaya Bhaskar says, “I immediately called Ravi Kumar and asked him what the problem was. His answers were vague and he asked me to come to the college. I rushed to Bengaluru.” The next day, Harsha and his father were allowed inside the campus in the afternoon. The duo was made to appear before five people including professors Ravi Kumar, TK Ramesh and BL Bhaskar. In what Vijaya Bhaskar describes as an ‘interrogation as if by the police’, the members went on to question Harsha about what happened on September 23.  “He kept saying that he did not have anything to do with the protest, and that he had been studying in the hostel. They kept asking him about a CCTV camera that was damaged in the hostel, near his room. They were acting like the police. After almost an hour of questioning, we were asked to leave,” he says. The committee made Harsha give in writing that he had nothing to do with the protest and that he was not aware of who damaged the CCTV. “I asked them how many more days the suspension would continue, they said they would get back to me within two days. They told me that I was not needed to stay back in Bengaluru anymore,” Vijay Bhaskar says. He, however, decided to stay back in a hotel with his son. “My son is a sensitive person. Even when he had a fever, he would stay back a day to be with his family. He had been to four or five interviews for placement. He was confident of getting one job. I didn’t want to leave him alone, and so I decided to stay back.” the father says. On October 19, Harsha received a call telling him to join the college on October 21. “He was relieved. But a few hours later, we got another call saying he had to come for a meeting at 10.30 am and then they will decide about him,” Vijay Bhaskar recalls. A worried Harsha and Vijay Bhaskar reached the college at 10 am on October 21. Vijay Bhaskar was not allowed to enter, and surprisingly Harsha was not allowed to even take his bag or mobile phone.  “I waited outside. I have no clue what happened in the meeting and what they told him. Around 11.45 am, Associate Dean and professor Rakesh SG came in a car to the gate. He got down and told me that Harsha had a medical emergency and I had to go to Columbia Asia hospital,” Vijay Bhaskar says.  The distraught father rushed to the hospital and at the gate of the hospital stood an ambulance and Harsha’s body on a stretcher: “He was dead. My son was dead. They hadn’t even taken him inside the hospital. I asked the doctor and he said there was nothing to do.” Vijay Bhaskar rushed back to the college after sometime. By then he knew that his son had killed himself. “I went to the spot. There was not a speck of blood there. They had cleaned it. Why? Why did SG Rakesh not tell me that my son had killed himself? Why did no one even come with me?” Vijay Bhaskar filed a complaint at the Parapana Agrahara police station against 10 officials of the college, and a case was registered against them subsequently for abetment of suicide and tampering with evidence.  “My son had high hopes of getting a job. In all these years, he has not even complained about the college. He would sometimes tell us that the food isn’t good, but that’s all. My son was innocent. Even if the college had some notion that he was involved in something, why did they behave like this? What happened in that meeting? I don't know what happened but I know they are responsible for his death. I will go to any court to get him justice,” he says.  

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Anand Mahindra to gift SUV to Mysuru man traveling to pilgrim spots with mother on a scooter

Krishna Kumar and his mother Choodarathna are on a trip across the country on a scooter, visiting places of worship.

TNM Staff

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra has promised to gift an SUV to Krishna Kumar, a 40-year-old Mysuru man traveling on a scooter across the country seeking to fulfill his mother's wishes. "A beautiful story. About the love for a mother but also about the love for a country. If you can connect him to me, I’d like to personally gift him a Mahindra KUV 100 NXT so he can drive his mother in a car on their next journey," Anand Mahindra said in a tweet.  A beautiful story. About the love for a mother but also about the love for a country... Thank you for sharing this Manoj. If you can connect him to me, I’d like to personally gift him a Mahindra KUV 100 NXT so he can drive his mother in a car on their next journey https://t.co/Pyud2iMUGY — anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) October 23, 2019 TNM had earlier reported that Krishna Kumar decided to go on a religious pilgrimage across the country on a scooter that holds an emotional tie to his father.  The duo of Krishna and his mother Choodarathna, 70, travelled through Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra. Along the way they stopped over at religious places across the country. Their travel stories showing grit and determination has impressed many including Anand Mahindra. Read: Scooter diaries: A K'taka mother and son are making a temple run across India They decided to travel after Krishna's father passed away in 2015, to fulfil the wishes of Choodarathna who had spent most of her life in Mysuru.  It has reportedly been over a year since they have been on the road covering places across India. Krishna Kumar could not be reached for his reaction to Anand Mahindra's offer.  This is not the first time Anand Mahindra is gifting an SUV after being inspired by a story. In February 2018, Anand gifted a brand-new Bolero Maxi Truck Plus were handed over to Shilpa, a single mother who set up 'Halli Mane Rotties', a fast-food joint that served north Karnataka dishes in Mangaluru. Read: TNM effect: Manguluru woman's food truck story wows Anand Mahindra, she gets a new car

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