‘My brother was a principled man,’ says JNU student Chiru’s sister
“I refuse to believe he committed suicide. Philemon was my brave brother, who always held the family together in tough times,” Zeyar said, outside the AIIMS mortuary.
Friday evening was the last time 25-year-old Zeyar Legasi spoke to her elder brother, JR Philemon Chiru.
On Tuesday night, he was found dead in his hostel room in JNU.
“I refuse to believe he committed suicide. Philemon was my brave brother, who always held the family together in tough times,” Zeyar said, outside the AIIMS mortuary.
Zeyar, who was preparing for her civil services exam, was informed by police last night about Chiru’s death. “He used to call me to know about my studies. Those five minutes on the phone were always full of guidance about giving my best for the competitive exams. We spoke twice or thrice in a week. He was a principled man,” she said.
Chiru, a former student of Sainik School in Manipur, was dedicated to his research work. Other students from his hostel said he was granted (9B), referring to an extension of one year to submit the thesis.
Chiru, a native of Senapati district of Manipur, was pursuing his Ph.D in West Asia studies. He also studied at Kirori Mal College in Delhi University.
“We studied together in school and were in contact through social networking sites. It came as a shock to me when a mutual friend told me about his death. He got into research, otherwise joining administrative services was his dream,” said a friend did not wish to be named.
Other PhD students at Brahmaputra hostel used to see Chiru mostly in the evenings. They said Chiru was into athletics and was always spotted jogging.
Chiru was the oldest of three siblings, including one sister. His father retired from the department of education and mother died a year ago. Only his sister was in Delhi to oversee all the arrangements. Over a dozen students from Manipur gathered to take the body from All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences.
Student at JNU said they did not realise that Chiru was missing for 3 days because PhD students are normally busy with their studies.
“After taking an extension for Ph.D, a student gives maximum time to his research work,” said a student of the hostel.