On January 6, 2017, the dead body of Jishnu Pranoy, an 18-year-old student of Nehru College in Kerala’s Thrissur district was found inside the bathroom of his hostel. Jishnu's death ended up in massive protests across the state with fingers pointed at his college for reprimanding him over false accusation. More than two years after Jishnu's death, and much to the dismay of his parents and friends, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has submitted a chargesheet at the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, clearing the charges against four accused, including Nehru Group Chairman P Krishnadas.
The CBI confirmed that Jishnu killed himself after he was falsely accused of cheating in an exam. College Vice Principal N Sakthivel and another teacher, CP Praveen, have been charged with abetment to suicide. The chargesheet reportedly mentions that Praveen compelled Jishnu to write a letter agreeing that he cheated in the exams though the student hadn’t done so.
Jishnu’s mother Mahija told TNM that the family was devastated that the charges against Krishnadas have been cleared. “Nothing happens in the college without his knowledge. After getting a copy of the chargesheet we will decide what to do. Anyway we are happy that the CBI proved that Jishnu did not cheat in the exam,” she said.
She also alleged a conspiracy in the case citing that Jishnu was brutally assaulted before his death. “The conspiracy angle was not investigated. Why was my son brutally tortured, for a mistake he didn’t do,” she said.
Along with the Krishnadas, college PRO Sanjith Viswanathan, and teachers Pradeepan and Deepan were also removed from the accused list.
It was on January 6, 2017 that Jishnu, a first year engineering student, was summoned by the accused alleging that he had cheated in an exam. Later the same day, he was found hanging inside the bathroom of his hostel. Though the Kerala government had recommended a CBI enquiry into the case in June 2017, the investigative agency rejected it.
In January 2018, the Supreme court had ordered a CBI probe upon Mahija’s petition seeking the same.