Chased student jumps into canal

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A 21-year-old student of Nandanam Government Arts College drowned in a canal behind the institute after he jumped into the waterway when he was chased by a group of students following a quarrel on Monday.

The body of K. Thanickavel, son of retired head constable, was fished out on Tuesday morning.

According to the police, it all began on Friday over extending support to fasting Anna Hazare by the college student. While one group wanted to extend the support, the other group objected to it.

This reportedly created a rivalry between the groups after a major argument over the issue.

Monday afternoon while Thanickavel was chatting with his friends another group of students reportedly came there and attacked them.

While all other students managed to escape, Thanickavel, to escape from the chasing group allegedly armed with weapons, jumped over the compound wall and landed himself in the canal running behind the college.

Some members of the chasing groups allegedly pelted stones at Thanickavel even as he was struggling in the water. He later disappeared in the waterway.

The victim was a resident of Valliyammal Street on New Avadi Road. His father Kannappan had retried from crime wing of the Elephant Gate police station.

The police said the incident could be a case of abetting death. “But the victim’s family claims that it was a clear case of murder as Thanickavel was chased by a group armed with weapons,” said a police officer.

“But we have to wait for the postmortem report to know if there were any external injuries,” the officer added.