Chennai, June 21: A second year engineering student of a self-financing college, who slipped into coma ten months back after he was attacked by seniors allegedly during ragging at the college campus, died here this morning.
Police sources said the 22-year-old student Rajkumar, hailing from Cumbum in southern Theni district, died this morning at his rented residence in Villivakkam after battling for life for ten months.
He had sustained a head injury during the attack in September last year. Rajkumar was a second year ECE student at the Rajalakshmi Engineering College at Sriperumbudur, about 40 km from here. While police sources said Rajkumar had sustained the injury following a clash between two group of students, the victim’s family allege that the clash was a sequel to a ragging incident in the college premises. Sources close to the victim’s family allege that students of the ECE and Mechanical department, staying in the college hostel, had been at loggerheads and the juniors were often physically abused in the name of ragging.
When Rajkumar objected to it, Parthiban, a senior student, attacked him with a wooden log on September five last year, inflicitng bleeding injuries on the head. Rajkumar fell unconscious. He was admitted to the Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital at suburban Porur. Later, he slipped into coma. Since he could not be treated at his native place, his parents rented a house at Villivakkam in the city for his treatment.
Family members of Rajkumar said since the college management had accepted to foot the medical expences, they withdrew the police complaint against the college.
However, an attempt to murder case was slapped against Parthiban, who was arrested and later released on bail.
Police have reportedly altered it as a case of murder and were on the look out for Parthiban.
—Agencies