A three-member Syndicate subcommittee of Mahatma Gandhi University is set to submit its interim report on the death of Anju P. Shaji, a final year BCom student, to the Vice Chancellor on Thursday.
The team, comprising M.S. Murali, Aji C. Panicker and V.S. Praveen Kumar, on Wednesday visited BVM Holy Cross College, Cherpungal, and recorded the statements of the Principal, invigilator, and members of the institution’s internal inquiry committee.
The team also examined CCTV visuals of the developments inside the hall where the deceased had attended the examination.
“As many as five students who attended the examination along with Anju have been identified while the Registrar of the varsity has approached the police seeking a scanned copy of her hall ticket for verification. The final report will include their statements and our inferences after verifying the hall ticket and CCTV visuals,” Dr. Murali told The Hindu.
Meanwhile, official sources suggested that college authorities might have erred in not permitting the girl to leave the examination hall after half an hour.
As per reports, the invigilator had caught Anju for alleged malpractice 20 minutes into the exam though she was directed to remain in the seat for another 40 minutes.
By the time she was asked to report at the chamber of the Principal, the girl might have been under severe duress, the official added.
Statements taken
Meanwhile, another police team collected statements from the people residing in the vicinity of the Cherpungal bridge, from where Anju had jumped into the river.
“Besides the college authorities, the statements of four students who attended the examination adjacent to Anju too have been recorded. We need to obtain the statement of the varsity official concerned on whether the college violated the examination guidelines. The answer scripts of Anju too will be confiscated for analysing her hand writing,” the official said.
