Overview
- A 20-year-old B.Tech student from Arunachal Pradesh, Michi Marpu, was found dead in his rented room in Kothamangalam on Saturday, with a rope around his neck and a three-page note recovered at the scene.
- Kothamangalam police have registered an unnatural-death case and said postmortem and inquest procedures will take place after the student’s relatives arrive; a formal investigation is under way.
- Students and union leaders say the college enforces a 22-credit minimum that can trigger a year back, and they plan protests blaming the rule for student stress and for reportedly causing some hostel evictions.
- Higher Education Minister Roji M John has contacted the district police chief, asked the university to inquire and promised a detailed departmental probe while urging colleges to provide counselling and family contact for affected students.
- The case highlights a policy split: Kerala Technological University moved to pause the year-back rule for this cohort but autonomous MA College of Engineering retained its stricter credit requirement, raising questions about communication, student welfare and institutional accountability.