Kannur/T’puram: Crime branch (CB), probing the death of BDS student R L Nithin Raj at Anjarakandy dental college, arrested Chittur native and prime accused in the case Dr M K Ram from Kodagu in Karnataka on Monday. Earlier, Supreme Court had dismissed his anticipatory bail plea on July 13. Raj died on April 10 after falling off a building at his college in an apparent case of suicide. Police probe found that the head of dental anatomy department had insulted the SC student in front of his class.Investigators intercepted him early on Sunday while he was ‘travelling by car from Kodagu to surrender in Kannur.’ CB recorded his arrest at 7.20am. CB said a team that recently visited his native place found that he had shifted to Bengaluru. Further investigation revealed that he was hiding at a location in Kodagu.Meanwhile, Thalassery district and sessions court ordered the release of Ram after his lawyers argued that police had failed to follow SC guidelines governing arrests. The defence contended that Ram was not officially informed of the grounds for his arrest which they said rendered the procedure legally untenable.Soon after his release, CB officers allegedly took Ram into custody outside the court’s premises. His wife alleged that he was forcibly detained by CB and brought the matter to the court’s attention. CB later released Ram after issuing a notice directing him to appear before the investigating officers two days later.Investigators said Ram had altered his appearance by growing a beard and avoided using his own phone. He communicated by using the phones of two individuals. He had allegedly spent a week hiding in a remote area of Kodagu with poor mobile connectivity with assistance from locals.CB SP K V Venugopal said that Ram had stayed at various places in Karnataka and AP. He said police had formed a special investigation team (SIT) immediately after SC rejected his bail plea and that team tracked him down and arrested him.Meanwhile, home minister Ramesh Chennithala constituted an SIT headed by CB IG Ajeetha Begum to probe Raj’s death after meeting his father Rajan on Monday. Rajan demanded the death penalty for Ram, alleging that his son was murdered and not driven to suicide.Addressing reporters after the meeting, Rajan said Ram was responsible for his son’s death and was unfit to continue as a doctor. He alleged that other faculty members and the college principal were also involved in the incident and should be made accused in the case.Rajan said he had submitted a memorandum to Chennithala seeking a comprehensive investigation and the prosecution of all those involved in the case. “Those responsible must be brought to justice. Ram deserves the maximum punishment,” he said.
