Singer KK’s Death After Kolkata College Concert Shows Ugly Face of Current Student Politics

Kolkata: Sharbari Nag (name changed), a third year student in Dinabandhu Andrews College, Kolkata, has been witness to student politics for quite some time. But, of late, she said she was aghast at the level at which it was stooping, especially after the sudden demise of popular singer KK after a live performance in a local college auditorium.

The singer died of cardiac arrest after he attended a “mismanaged” event at a college  (where the student body is controlled by the ruling Trinamool Congress). It is said that the auditorium capacity was around 2,500, but a crowd of over 7,000 landed up that day for the music concert. It is also alleged that passes for the show were sold at a hefty amount to individuals, with many of them who did not "look like students". Present at the venue were TMC bigwigs, such as Madan Mitra and TMC student wing leaders.

Nag says the unfortunate incident is a reflection of how student politics is being played out in the city, wherein student leaders are being selected by local political satraps to run the show and to “shut the mouths of average students” through display of muscle strength. She says no election has taken place in her college, adding “Who will face the ruling party goons?” 

The college where KK’s event took place was Gurudas College in  Phoolbagan area of North Kolkata . After 2011, student body elections have not taken place in colleges in the area and the students body is run through selection by local leaders of the ruling party, said sources, who added that about 99% of college student bodies in the state had been “taken over by force” by TMC.

Many of those who attended the music concert on Tuesday recalled the “horror experience”. Subhankar Aditya, a student, recalled that the air-conditioning system of Nazrul Manch, where the programme was taking place, was not running. The auditorium, which has a capacity to hold 2,500 people, was packed with over 7,000. He also alleged that TMC student leaders, in the lure of ‘cut money’, had sold passes at hefty amounts.

A thorough probe of the incident should take place, he said, adding that Nazrul Manch’s CCTV footage should not get deleted and every pass should be accounted for to find out who all benefited from “black marketing”.

 The Condition of the Stage

An eyewitness, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said there was “full scale pandemonium” in the auditorium premises. “People who entered the premises were four times more than the actual capacity of the hall .The organisers paid scant respect to rules and regulations. We were sitting in the hall and were perspiring as the heat was unbearable. . . During the show, time and again KK informed the organisers of his breathless situation due to the heat ... he even showed his soaked shirt to the crowd. He repeatedly used towels to wipe his sweat and was drinking bottles after bottles of water. At one time, he even asked the lightman to switch off backstage light which he said "was burning his back". At the time more than 50- 60 organisers were on stage. KK didn’t have sufficient space to perform. It was in this condition that he performed” the student said.

Meanwhile, the Students' Federation of India (SFI ) condemned the incident. Mayukh Biswas,  SFI general secretary,  alleged that “TMC-led Gurudas College students union  is solely responsible for  the event at Nazrul Manch  which ended in the tragic death of KK . The organisers sold tickets in black market and also sprayed fire extinguishers in the auditorium. Then they switched off the AC. These are serious criminal offences.”

It may be recalled that singer KK or Krishnakumar Kunnath  passed away on Tuesday night at the age of 53. He was performing at an event in Kolkata, after which he took unwell and was taken to CMRI hospital where he was declared brought dead. His initial post-mortem report, however, rules out foul play, and points to cardiac arrest as te reason behind death, as per the police, quoted by PTI.

"The initial report suggested that the singer died because of myocardial infarction. There was no foul play behind his death. Clinical examination also found that the singer was having prolonged cardiac issues," a police officer said, adding, the final report would be available after 72 hours.