Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 6 (IANS): Kerala Higher Education Minister R. Bindhu on Tuesday said a probe has been initiated into the suicide of a student at Amal Jyothi College of Engineering located at Kanjirappally in Kottayam district.

Sradha Satheesh, a fourth semester student of food technology, was found hanging in her room on June 2. Since then student unrest has been on the rise and on Tuesday it reached a high when the police and angry students had a standoff.

Her college and hostel mates have charged the head of her department and the hostel warden for harassing her. They are angry that the college authorities tried to mislead the doctors by not informing them that it may be a case of suicide when she was taken for emergency treatment.

Bindhu told the media that a police probe is currently on and also one by her department.

"There is no doubt that students' rights have to be respected as in the modern world things are different. We will assure the students that they need not feel jittery that they will be targeted because of the probe that has begun," said Bindhu.

Bindhu and State Cooperation Minister V.N. Vasavan who hails from Kottayam district are arriving at the college on Wednesday to hold discussions with the students and also with the management to defuse the situation.

The college management to cool down matters, on Tuesday decided to close the college and the hostel, but the students in the hostel have refused to vacate it. Eventually things now have cooled down, after the huge police force was withdrawn from the campus.