Kerala BDS student death: Statewide hartal by Dalit, Adivasi groups disrupts life

A large number of Dalit and Adivasi activists took to the streets on Tuesday morning, April 28, 2026, demanding justice in connection with the death of BDS student Nithin Raj at a college in Anjarakandy in Kannur, Kerala, on April 10, allegedly due to caste discrimination in the classroom and staff room interactions with some members of the faculty.

Protesters blocked traffic, disrupted KSRTC and private bus operations and forced shops to close in Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram and Pathanamthitta districts and other places, leaving a large number of commuters in a difficult situation. They staged sit-ins at bus terminals and blocked cars, private cars and pickup trucks carrying passengers. Protesters also attempted to disrupt the functioning of nationalized banks in some parts of the state and demanded that passengers traveling to hospitals show their medical records for free passage.