Kannur BDS student death: Prime accused Dr. Ram arrested in Karnataka after weeks on the run

BDS student Nithin Raj died on April 10. His family alleged that he was subjected to caste-based harassment by the college faculty members | Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN The Crime Branch has arrested Dr. M.K. Ram, the first accused in the abetment of suicide case related to the death of first-year BDS student R.L. Nithin Raj of Kannur Dental College, Anjarakandy, Kerala. Dr. Ram is a former Head of the Dental Anatomy Department at the college.Crime Branch SP K.V. Venugopal confirmed that Dr. Ram was arrested from Karnataka and brought to Kannur on Sunday (July 20, 2026) night after remaining absconding for weeks following the rejection of his anticipatory bail plea by the Supreme Court. He was brought to the Crime Branch office in Kannur and will be produced before the court after completing legal formalities.Dr. Ram had been evading arrest after the Kerala High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea on June 19. The Supreme Court also rejected his anticipatory bail petition on July 13, following which a Crime Branch team led by Inspector Sreejith Koderi travelled to Karnataka, where he was apprehended. Investigators had earlier tracked him to Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh by monitoring his phone calls and messages, but he had managed to evade arrest before the team reached him. The search continued across neighbouring States before he was finally apprehended in Karnataka.The second accused, Dr. Sangeeta Nambiar, was earlier granted anticipatory bail by the district court. She was subsequently arrested and released on bail in accordance with the court’s order.Nithin Raj, son of Y. Rajan and C.R. Latha, natives of Thiruvananthapuram, died on April 10. His family alleged that he was subjected to caste-based harassment by the college faculty members, leading to the registration of a case for abetment of suicide.Role of loan appsThe Crime Branch is also probing the role of the Noida-based loan app Instapay and had arrested four persons in this connection. Investigators allege that the app provided Nithin Raj a loan at an exorbitant interest rate and that recovery agents repeatedly contacted and threatened him.A special investigation team (SIT) headed by DySP Sudheer Kallan is probing the circumstances surrounding Nithin Raj’s death, while DySP Jeevan George is investigating the alleged loan app transactions that are also suspected to have contributed to the student’s death. Published - July 20, 2026 10:53 am IST