Principal of Kodagu college, a Dalit man, commits suicide due to alleged harassment

The principal of a college in Kodagu district, a Dalit man, committed suicide on Wednesday night, due to alleged harassment from certain people within the college management.

Sudesh, who was the principal of Srimati B Chennamma PU College in Somwarpet area, consumed poison in a Mangaluru lodge on Wednesday night. Sudesh’s wife Snehalatha has alleged that he was harassedby the college management.

However, college refuted the polytechnic lecturer’s allegations and said that a personal problem may be the reason for the  “unfortunate incident”, reported Times of India.

College authorities have been booked under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, said Mangaluru police commissioner M Chandra Sekhar.

Police said that Sudesh had come to Mangaluru to meet his family- wife and two children on January 16. He had told his wife about the harassment and that he would commit suicide if it didn’t stop. He has reportedly been complaining of repeated harassment by the management for some time now.

Sudesh left after his family members pacified him and agreed to get back to Kodagu on January 20.

However instead of doing so, Sudesh reportedly took a room in a lodge near the Bejai KSRTC bus stand, he consumed alcohol before taking poison, police said.

P Keshava, a leader of Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti alleged that Sudesh was harassed by a colleague and the college management and wanted to wanted him to withdraw from the post.

“As per seniority, Sudesh became principal. This upset a colleague, who joined hands with the management to harass him,” he alleged.

This is an aggregated report from Times of India