Bodies of three female students of a private medical college were found in a well in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district on Saturday evening. They have reportedly blamed the college administration for their death in a suicide note, police said.
The girls have been identified as 18-year-olds E Saranya and V Priyanka, and 19-year-old T Monisha; all second year students of SVS Medical College of Yoga and Naturopathy and Research Institute, The Indian Express reported.
They have accused the college management of charging "excess fees" of "around Rs 6 lakh" without the bill and "torture" in the two-page suicide note. They also alleged poor facilities in the institution and said there was "nothing to learn".
The suicide note mentions about "extortion by the management and how students are fighting for even basic amenities", a senior police officer told NDTV.
They also accused college chairman for their death, The Indian Express reported. "After our suicide, she (Subramanian) will say our character was bad. Please don't believe her but probe and take action against her," the note read.
Students at the college were protesting for over a month against the insufficient facilities, such as proper classes and teachers, in the institute. In the note, the girls said that the college authorities did not take any action despite several complaints against Subramanian. They added that they are committing suicide in the hope that their death will prompt the authorities to act on the complaints.
The district SP has started an investigation into the allegations, Villupuram range DIG Anisa Husain said. Subramanian has been absconding ever since, but the police arrested her son, Sukhi Verma.
Family members of the deceased girls have also alleged harassment by the college administration.
"It is a murder, not a suicide. We want a post-mortem done in Chennai, not a Villupuram hospital," NDTV quoted the father of one of the girls as saying.
"The college management harassed and tortured students," relative of another student said.
3 women medical students allegedly committed suicide in Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu (earlier visuals of the spot) pic.twitter.com/qq3mPstPPW
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 24, 2016