Thiruvananthapuram: One of the judges of the ‘Margamkali’ competition item, which was part of the recently suspended Kerala University Youth Festival, was found dead at his house in Kannur. The judge, identified as Shaji, had allegedly been accused of accepting bribes during the competition.
Earlier on Saturday, Shaji, the first accused in the bribery case, along with two other competition judges, was taken into custody by the Cantonment Police in Thiruvananthapuram from the festival venue and later released.
A suicide note was found from his room. In the letter he mentioned his innocence regarding the bribery allegations. He stated that he had not received bribes from anyone and emphasized that points were awarded solely based on the performers’ merit. The note also mentioned that he conveyed everything to his mother.
Responding to Janam TV, Shaji’s brother revealed that the bribery accusations had caused Shaji immense mental stress. Shaji vehemently denied taking any bribes and expressed feeling like a scapegoat. His brother also revealed that several injury marks from physical assault were found on Shaji’s body. The family intends to file a case after the post-mortem examination.
ABVP Kerala State Secretary, EU Eswaraprasad, alleged that SFI was responsible for Shaji’s death. ABVP strongly criticized the Kerala University Union, led by the SFI, accusing the festival organizers of involvement in bribery and inciting riots, thereby compromising the festival’s integrity. ABVP also blamed the police for negligence leading to Shaji’s death. It is also reported that another competition judge revealed that SFI members interrogated and assaulted Shaji during the event.
The Cantonment Police summoned Shaji and the other two judges to appear for interrogation today. However, Shaji committed suicide in the meantime. As a result, the other two competition judges will now appear before the police.
On March 9th (Saturday), following bribery allegations and further incidents of violence on the university campus, Kerala University temporarily suspended the University Youth Festival 2024.
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