Madras HC notice to TN government in suicide case

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Monday issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government and ordered the preservation till January 27 of the body of T. Monisha, one of the three girl students who allegedly committed suicide.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa expressed grief over the suicides and announced a solatium of Rs.1 lakh to each of the bereaved families.

On Monday, police arrested Vasuki, Sukhi Verma and two others - top officials of SVS Naturopathy and Yoga College in Tamil Nadu`s Villupuram district - while the Villupuram district administration sealed the college a day earlier.

While police registered a case of suicide in the death of T. Monisha, A. Saranya and V. Priyanka, their parents alleged the students were murdered for protesting against the lack of basic facilities in the college.

The bodies were taken out of a well in a farm near the college on Saturday evening. Villupuram is around 170 km from here.

The high court order on the preservation of Monisha`s body till Wednesday came on her father Tamilarasan`s plea.

"Without Tamilarasan`s consent and despite his demand for a post-mortem in a hospital in Chennai, the police conducted the autopsy in Villupuram," his counsel R. Sankarasubbu told IANS.

He said the petition demanded the transfer of investigations from the Villupuram police to the CB-CID wing of Tamil Nadu Police and a second autopsy in a Chennai hospital.

"Our contention is that the district administration is helping the college management in the case," Sankarasubbu alleged.

Meanwhile, Dr M.G.R. Medical University vice chancellor S. Geethalakshmi told reporters that the college was not affiliated to the varsity. She said the college`s recognition was cancelled a couple of years back.

Nearly four months ago, a few students of the college had allegedly attempted suicide in front of the Villupuram collectorate.

Police said the three students ended their lives after the management demanded higher fees even though the college lacked basic facilities.