TRIVANDRUM, 25 July 2004 — The Kerala government yesterday announced the closure of all educational institutions until Wednesday as protests by leftist students and youths over the suicide of a Dalit student turned violent in many places for the second day.
Health Minister P. Shankaran was slightly injured when his car was attacked in the northern town of Cannanore. The protesters smashed the windshield of the car.
Scores of government vehicles were attacked and set ablaze as the protesters engaged in street battles with police in several places. Student unions have called for a statewide shutdown on Monday.
Chief Minister A.K. Antony and other ministers in the state capital canceled all official functions and remained indoors throughout the day fearing attacks.
Breaking a police barricade, Students Federation of India activists attacked and partially damaged the building of the Institute for Human Resources Development (IHRD) Engineering College in Adoor, where the victim, 20-year-old Rajni S. Anand, was doing her graduation in computer science.
Hundreds of students took to the streets saying she ended her life not being able to pay the fee demanded by the government-run “self-financing’ college”.
Rajni committed suicide by jumping from the seventh floor of a government building just behind the state secretariat on Thursday in broad daylight.
SFI and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists here took out a march to Cliff House, the official residence of Chief Minister Antony. They were stopped by police from reaching his residence.
On the way to the chief minister’s residence, they attacked the Federal Bank building and damaged its ATM. A State Bank of India branch also came under a hail of stones. Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters at several places in the capital.
In Cochin, Kerala Students Union (KSU) workers forced the closure of the city branch of Indian Overseas Bank, whose branch in Trivandrum rejected Rajni’s study loan application. Some 30 staff members and 15 customers were locked in for more than an hour before the police came and removed the protesters. The IOB branches were attacked at several places.
Banks came under attack allegedly because they were reluctant to advance loans to students. Students say professional education became out of bound for poor students after the state government opened up the education sector to big business.
The All India Youth Federation workers also blocked Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Welfare Department Director Ashok Kumar at his office for several hours.
Backward Classes Minister M.A. Kuttappan denied allegations that the victim was denied financial assistance and said mystery shrouded her death.
He said all educational benefits had been granted to Rajni who was admitted to the payment seat in the state-run college in November 2002. Though she completed the first and second semesters she failed in nine of ten papers.
Though she had come to the college during the first part of the third semester, she did not come to the college after the second week of August last year.
