Villupuram college sealed after students’ death

Tension prevailed at the Mundiyampakkam government medical college here where the bodies of three girl students of a Siddha college who allegedly committed suicide on Saturday, were kept. 

After members of various political parties agitated near the college demanding action against the management, the college was sealed. 

The three girl students of the private college here allegedly ended their lives by jumping into a well, owing to the exorbitant college fees collected from them. The incident that happened on Saturday comes after the recent protests by students alleging collection of exorbitant fees by the SVS Yoga Medical College at Kallakurichi near here. 

The bodies were retrieved by police and fire brigade personnel and sent to a government hospital for autopsy, police said. According to police, the parents of the three girls V Priyanka, E Saranya and T Monisha refused to accept the body, demanding that the post-mortem should not be conducted at the Mundiyampakkam Medical College and instead it should be done in the Kilpauk Government Hospital. 

They alleged that they got suspicious that the girls were beaten to death and thrown into the well, since their bodies carried injuries. Tension erupted as parents and relatives of the girls gathered in front of the hospital on Sunday. Although, the police tried to convince and pacify those assembled, they refused to back down. 

Ramamurthy, the legislator from Vikravandi who came to the hospital also put forth the demand that the post-mortem be conducted at the Kilpauk government hospital in Chennai. He urged adequate compensation to the families of the girls and action against the college. 

The students of the Siddha college on Sunday afternoon put up a road blockade on the Villupuram main road disrupting free movement of vehicles for half-an-hour before police intervened. They demanded immediate action against the Principal of the Siddha College. Police officials held talks with them and persuaded them to call off the agitation. The post-mortem of the bodies is yet to be conducted. 

According to the police, the girls had previously voiced complaints regarding lack of amenities. 

A case has been filed under various sections and the police is interrogating four persons including a lecturer of the college and the warden of the hostel where the girls were put up.