Chennai, Aug 17:
Vice President C.P.Radhakrishnan on Sunday said he was deeply pained over the murder of a college student for sharing information on drug trade and advised students to stay away from drugs.
In his convocation address at a private institution in neighbouring Chengalpattu district, the Vice President said the recent incident in Tamil Nadu in which a student was murdered for sharing information about the drug trade was deeply painful.
He said he felt as though he had lost a member of his own family and urged the students to stay away from drugs and all forms of substance abuse, while calling upon them to choose “discipline over distraction, purpose over temptation, and excellence over easy shortcuts.”
It may be noted that a 19-year-old engineering student from Kallakurichi was allegedly beaten to death by a group of collegemates in Coimbatore a few days back following allegations that he was involved in a mobile phone theft and extortion incident.
K. Amuthan, a student of Hindustan Engineering College, was allegedly assaulted with wooden logs and iron rods at a ground behind the college near Malumichampatti. He later returned to his room but developed severe breathing difficulties and died while undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital.
The incident followed an early-morning assault at a rented house in Poonga Nagar. Around 5.30 am on Monday, a group of masked youths allegedly entered the house where 18-year-old Elavarasan, a second-year civil engineering student, was staying with friends.
The attackers allegedly threatened the occupants with a knife, assaulted them and escaped after taking two mobile phones. During the incident, Elavarasan and his friends reportedly identified Amuthan as one of the attackers.
Elavarasan subsequently lodged a complaint with the Chettipalayam police, who registered a case.
Later, Amuthan and his friend Sriman, were allegedly intercepted by a group of students near Malumichampatti. The students reportedly took them to a ground behind the college, where Amuthan was allegedly attacked with logs and iron rods.
Despite sustaining serious injuries, Amuthan managed to return to his room. He later developed severe breathing difficulties and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed.
Based on Sriman’s complaint, the Chettipalayam police registered a murder case and have so far arrested nine people in this connection.
While the preliminary investigation indicates that Amuthan was allegedly attacked in retaliation for the earlier assault and mobile phone snatching incident, his father Kennedy has made a different allegation. He claimed that his son had allegedly exposed the supply of ganja on the college hostel premises and that information provided by Amuthan was leaked, eventually resulting in the attack on him.
The family has demanded stringent action against everyone responsible for Amuthan’s death and has also sought action against the college management over the alleged leak of information.
Leaders of various political parties condemned the incident and urged the ruling TVK headed by Vijay to put an an end to the drug menace.
The issue was raised in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on August 12 by DMK and other party MLAs, including Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin. However, Speaker JCD Prabhakar said the Special Calling Attention motion notice given by them would be taken up today, when the House would resume its proceedings after a four-day break.