Kalvimalar

Kannur (Ker): The apparent death by suicide of a dance master tasked with judging an event at the Kerala University Youth Festival here has triggered a political controversy, with the Opposition Congress alleging that the student wing of the CPI(M) assaulted him, prompting him to take the extreme step.

Shaji (51), who was the judge of the Margamakali competition at the Youth Festival, was arrested last week on charges of bribery for tampering with the results of the competition.

Out on bail, he was found dead in his room around 7.30 pm on Wednesday, having consumed poison, police said.

"The family found the body and informed us," police said.

They have also found a suicide note purportedly written by the deceased in which he claims he was innocent and that he had not received any money.

While the family sought a comprehensive probe into the incident saying he was innocent, the Opposition Congress trained its guns on the ruling CPI(M) and alleged that its student wing SFI was responsible for the death.

Shaji's mother and brother spoke to the media, saying that he was depressed over being arrested over the events at the university. They recounted that he cried and promised them that he was framed by someone.

"When asked, he assured me that he was innocent. Many had approached him to influence the competition. He received messages but never responded," Shaji's brother told the media.

Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan and KPCC chief K Sudhakaran attacked the SFI over the incident and alleged that the Left activists had assaulted Shaji during the Youth Festival held in Thiruvananthapuram.

"He was invited to judge a competition in the Kerala University Youth Festival but was assaulted and insulted. He was heartbroken and committed suicide," Satheesan alleged.

Satheesan referred to various incidents in which the SFI has been accused of violence, and alleged that the "criminals" are under the protection of Chief Minister Pinararyi Vijayan.

Earlier in the day, Sudhakaran visited the house of Shaji in Kannur and alleged that the SFI was responsible for the death of the dance teacher.

Police said the suicide note also states that he had given marks only to those who deserved it.

Shaji and two trainers, Jomet and Sooraj, were arrested by the Thiruvananthapuram police on Saturday over allegations of bribery to manipulate the results of the Margamkali competition held as part of the Kerala University Youth Festival.

The competition was cancelled after the controversy.

The Youth Festival itself was later suspended on March 11 by the Vice-Chancellor due to various complaints and incidents of student violence.

Kerala state Higher Education Minister R Bindu said Shaji's death was unfortunate. Amid opposition allegations of SFI assaulting Shaji, Bindu said it seems that certain individuals infiltrated the festival and incited trouble.

"The death was unfortunate. It seems like some people infiltrated the festival and caused the trouble. The real picture will emerge after the police investigation. Nowadays, there are attempts to create issues in campuses. We were able to improve the quality of our higher education sector and the such incidents are aimed at tarnishing our image," she said.

She added that there are deliberate attempts to create unrest in campuses in the state.