Bengaluru university authorities slammed after 19-year-old BTech student's suicide

Aditya Prabhu, 19, a Bengaluru student, died by suicide on Monday. Days later, social media posts alleged harassment by the college authorities.

The father of a 19-year-old student accused authorities of a well-known university in Bengaluru of abetment to suicide of his son. Aditya Prabhu, a BTech student at a university in Bengaluru, died by suicide on Monday after jumping off the 8th floor of a building on the college campus, several reports claimed. Aditya was accused of cheating in an examination.

The deceased's father reportedly filed a police complaint, alleging that the college authorities were responsible for his son's death.

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The deceased's father, Ganesh Prabhu, reportedly filed a police complaint, alleging that the college authorities were responsible for his son's death. Days after the tragic incident, social media posts accused the college administration, including the student's mentor and other senior officials, of harassment.

“I am Aditya Prabhu's mother. He was a student (19 years old) of PES college, RR road campus, CSE 1st year student. On July 17th Aditya jumped from 8th floor of a building in the campus and committed suicide. The college announced to the media that Aditya was caught cheating and copying during examination. He was detained. He was counselled and when he was told that parents would be informed, he jumped from the building. I want to tell our side of story here,” a user posted on Instagram.

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Hindustan Times could not independently verify the authenticity of the user's account.

“I got a call from Aditya at 11:45 am July 17th. He told me that he forgot to put the phone back in his bag and the phone remained in his pant pocket…Aditya also told that they are harassing him, they told him it's better to die than do such things and asked me to come to college,” the user added.

The post further read that the deceased's mother was “pressured” to sign a statement, which the user said “was probably something that would wash off their hands from the matter”.

The user also posted a set of questions.

The account, ‘Justiceforadityaprabhu’, had around 10,000 followers. Similar messages were also shared on the micro-blogging site Twitter. Aditya was a Mangaluru native and lived near Bannerghatta Road.

(If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918, Roshni Foundation (Secundrabad) Contact Nos: 040-66202001, 040-66202000, ONE LIFE: Contact No: 78930 78930, SEVA: Contact No: 09441778290)