Engineering student found dead in college toilet

Thiruvananthapuram: An 18-year-old first year civil engineering student of the College of Engineering here was found dead under suspicious circumstances in a toilet inside the campus on Saturday night, police said.

While Ratheesh Kumar's classmates and friends alleged that he had been facing a threat from some drug peddlers near his home at Neyyatinkara here, police said investigation was in progress and they would look into the charges.

Ratheesh, who had come to the campus attend a series of examinations on November 7, had been missing since then.

His body was found hanging in a toilet of the college campus on Saturday night by a security guard.

Police said they began a search for Kumar after college authorities informed them about the student missing on Nov 7.

College Principal Giji C V, said the student had not shown any suicidal tendencies.

The college authorities had been told that some members of the drug mafia had attacked him and his house earlier.

Some of Ratheesh's classmates said he had told them that he was facing a threat from some drug peddlers near his home who had attacked him after he allegedly passed on information against them to excise officials.