Principal, registrar among 3 booked

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 27

The Cantonment police have booked Khalsa College principal Dr Mahal Singh, Registrar Dr Davender Singh and head of department, agriculture, Dr Randeep Kaur Bal, on the charges of abetment of suicide in connection with an incident in which Harpreet Singh (22), a student of the college and a Bathinda resident, committed suicide by hanging in his hostel room here last evening.

The incident led to an agitation by students yesterday who blocked the GT Road and continued a protest today also. They blocked entry gates and one side of the road leading to a traffic congestion.

Meanwhile, the Khalsa College Governing council (KCGC) has expressed grief over the unfortunate incident but also condemned the registration of a case against the college principal and others and demanded its cancellation.

They pointed out that the deceased’s name was in the list of students whose percentage of attending lectures, as per the rules and regulations of Guru Nanak Dev University and the college, was less.

ADCP Gautam Singhal said a case had been registered against the suspects following the statement of Yadwinder Singh, father of the victim.

He said the accused were not arrested as the probe was pending in the case.

He said Harpreet was ill and could not attend lectures. He also submitted a medical certificate with the authorities. He was also preparing for the ICAR examinations. However, he was not allowed to sit in the examinations. It led to his taking the extreme step of ending his life. Yadwinder demanded the arrest of the three suspects.

They said they would not lift the dharna till the persons responsible for his death were arrested.

They alleged Harpreet was targeted by the authorities as he used to raise issues concerning students. He was a member of the mess committee.

In yet another meeting, principals of Khalsa college institutions condoled the death of Harpreet. However, they demanded the cancellation of FIR against college officials. Staff and teachers of the college also threatened to go on a strike in case the FIR was not cancelled.

Principal Dr Mehal Singh, while expressing sympathy for the victim’s family, said: “They were doing their duty and following the rules. Harpreet was one of the 164 students whose attendance was short and, hence, were detained from appearing in the examination.

He said the student had attended only 19 lectures out of the total 121 which is only 15 per cent.

Congress MLA from the area Raj Kumar Verka, Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Lalli Majithia and CPI district secretary Amarjit Singh Asal were among those who visited the spot and condoled the death of the victim.

They criticised the attitude of the college management towards students and said they were supporting the students and a high-level probe would be conducted. Verka said he had brought the matter to the notice of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.