A 27-year-old PhD student of Jawaharlal Nehru University was found hanging from the ceiling of his friend’s house in South Delhi’s Munirka Vihar area on Monday evening. No suicide note was found on him, the police said, adding that he had been depressed about some personal issues for some time.
J Muthukrishnan was visiting his friend’s house in Munirka Vihar on Monday. After lunch he had locked himself in a room saying he wanted to sleep. “Later, his friends called him out and on getting no response, they called the police,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Delhi) Chinmoy Biswal said.
On reaching the spot, the police forced open the door and found him hanging from the ceiling. An investigation under Section 174 of the CrPC is being carried out, Biswal added.
In his last Facebook post, Muthukrishnan had made several allegations of inequality against the University. “There is no equality in M.phil/PhD Admission, there is no equality in Viva–voce, there is only denial of equality, denying Professor Sukhadeo Thorat recommendation, denying students protest places in Ad–block, denying the education of the marginals. When equality is denied, everything is denied,” he wrote.
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad leader Saurabh Sharma in a statement expressed condolences to Muthukrishnan. “It’s an irreparable loss. May the departed soul rest in peace,” he said.
Muthukrishnan, a Dalit student from Salem district in Tamil Nadu, was pursuing MPhil in Modern History at JNU, reported The Hindu. He had also studied at Hyderabad University, where Dalit research scholar Vemula was a student. Vemula had committed suicide in January 2016.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!