Andhra Pradesh College Faces Backlash Following RGUKT Student Suicide; Eight Seniors Suspended
Andhra college in chaos after seniors beat junior to suicide.
A third-year student, Prattipati Srujan, was found hanging in his hostel room at Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT) Srikakulam campus on Wednesday morning, triggering massive outrage across the institute. Hundreds of furious students blocked roads and staged a dharna on Thursday, accusing eight fourth-year seniors of physically assaulting Srujan two nights earlier and driving him to take his own life.
According to fellow students, the fatal assault stemmed from Srujan’s close friendship with a female batchmate whom the seniors claimed he treated like a sister. The eight accused allegedly thrashed him mercilessly on Tuesday night, leaving him traumatised. When the news of his suicide broke, the campus exploded in anger, with protesters demanding immediate expulsion and criminal charges against the perpetrators.
RGUKT Director Dhana Balaji swiftly suspended all eight accused students and constituted an internal inquiry committee to investigate the incident. Etcherla police registered a case of abetment to suicide against the seniors, detained them for questioning, and sent Srujan’s body for post-mortem. Senior officers including Srikakulam DSP Vivekananda rushed to the campus to pacify the agitated students and promised a thorough probe.
Srujan’s devastated family from Guntur district rejected the suicide narrative entirely, insisting their son was murdered and staging a separate protest. They claim he was neither depressed nor capable of taking his own life, and demanded a murder case instead of abetment. Tension gripped the campus as conflicting versions circulated rapidly on social media.
As the situation stabilised late Thursday under heavy police presence, the tragedy has reignited nationwide debate on ragging and campus violence. With eight students behind bars and an internal probe underway, RGUKT now faces intense scrutiny over hostel safety and its failure to detect earlier signs of harassment that ended a bright young life.
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