Kerala student who attempted suicide dies after months in coma, she alleged harassment by hostel warden

Twenty-year-old Chaithanya Kumari, a third-year nursing student of the Manzoor nursing school in Kanhangad, died on Saturday. She had been in a coma for more than three months after attempting to die by suicide.

Kumari, a native of Kottayam, was undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode medical college where she was undergoing treatment. She tried to end her life at her hostel room after alleged harassment by hostel warden Rajani on December 7 last year.

Warden accused of mental harassment

Kumari had reportedly returned unwell one day – when Rajani scolded her. Kumari was allegedly then denied food and water by the warden. The student then attempted die by suicide, after which she slipped into a coma.

Her suicide attempt had triggered widespread protests in the campus. Other students had alleged that they faced mental harassment by the warden. Several students reportedly said they were subjected to harsh treatment by the warden. They also said the hostel had "prison-like" conditions.

Kumar's mother had registered a complaint against Rajani, the hostel warden and accused her of mental harassment. According to her complaint, Rajani had been harassing her daughter for a long time, forcing her to take the extreme step.

Other students had also given statements to the police and Rajani was booked under Sections 126 and 296(b) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for wrongful restraint and using obscene words.

The warden was put off duty amid the allegations but was taken into custody after the student's death. She will be questioned today, officials said.

National Task Force to check student suicides

The news of the nursing student's death comes in the backdrop of the Supreme Court directing the formation of a National Task Force to address the mental health concerns of students and prevent suicides in higher educational institutions.

The court was hearing a plea filed by the parents of two deceased students against an order of the Delhi High Court that refused to register an FIR in the matter.

The SC, on Monday, outlining a disturbing pattern of student suicides in educational institutions, directed Delhi Police to register an FIR and probe the suicidal deaths of two IIT-Delhi students from the SC/ST community.

In July, 2023, BTech student Ayush Ashna was found hanging in his hostel room. On September 1, 2023, Anil Kumar (21), a BTech student and resident of UP’s Banda district, was found dead in his hostel room at the institute. Kumar joined IIT in 2019.

Their deaths were alleged to be murders as a result of a conspiracy and not suicides in the complaints, which also claimed caste discrimination by the IIT faculty and staff.

(With inputs from agencies)