Death of MBBS student: Parents allege police apathy

Thiruvananthapuram: More than a month after the death of an MBBS student at Venjaramoodu after falling from a hostel building under mysterious circumstances, her parents allege police apathy in conducting an effective probe. The probe team is still not in a position to answer how she fell down from the building. “No probe has been conducted on her death. Police have not even questioned the people in the suspect list,” said Benny Mathew, father of the woman.Adhithi Benny (22), daughter of Philomina Benny of Karuvelil House near Udayamperoor, Ernakulam, was a third-year MBBS student at Sree Gokulam Medical College, Venjaramoodu. She died on Dec 9, 2023, morning while being under treatment after falling from the hostel building on Dec 2. “A few weeks before her death, she had faced some issues with her roommate. She was attacked and mentally tortured by the roommate. She had even complained about it to the principal. After this incident, she opted to live outside the hostel. On the day of the incident, she reached the hostel to take a book. Her mother was standing downstairs when she went to the room and after a few minutes her body was found in a pool of blood. No one saw her jumping from the building. Only through a transparent probe the truth behind her death will come to light,” said Mathew. However, police termed the allegations baseless. “We are awaiting the postmortem report to go ahead with the probe. The student was suffering from depression, and it is a clear case of suicide,” said police. Venjaramoodu police registered a case under Section 174 of CrPC for unnatural death.