E-Paper
4 years after student’s suicide, 2 peers booked by Mohali police
As per the allegations by the 53-year-old father of the deceased, the duo blackmailed his son with some audio recording, and extorted money from him by threatening to circulate it, driving him to suicide
Over four years after a 19-year-old student of a private university in Mohali ended his life by jumping from the sixth floor of his rented flat in Kharar, police have booked his two fellow students, who were also his flatmates, for abetment to suicide.
The accused have been identified as Kabir Mehta of New Delhi and Saksham Tyagi of Hisar, Haryana.
As per the allegations by the 53-year-old father of the deceased, Mehta and Tyagi blackmailed his son with some audio recording, and extorted money from him by threatening to circulate it, driving him to suicide.
A native of Agra, the father told the police that his son took admission in the private university to pursue a hotel management course in 2018.
He initially stayed in the campus hostel, but eventually rented a flat in a Kharar society with his classmate Mehta and Tyagi, a first-year student.
The father said his son told him that he wanted to leave the flat, as both the accused had been blackmailing him for money by threatening to circulate his audio in the university, which could have landed him in trouble, even rustication.
On February 19, 2019, Tyagi called him over the phone to check if his son had complained against him. The father said he told Tyagi to focus on studies, stay together and take care of each other.
The very next day, his son called him around 5.10 am and asked him to take care of the family. After some time, he received a phone call from a relative, sharing that his son had jumped from the sixth floor and died.
The parents of the deceased alleged that Mehta and Tyagi killed their son as he knew about their bad habits, including drug addiction.
The father further stated that as per the autopsy report, his son suffered three neck fractures. Had he jumped from the sixth floor, his bones should have been broken, but there were just three fractures in the neck, he claimed, suspecting foul play.
Initially Kharar police had initiated inquest proceedings in the case, but after the family sought a high-level probe, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of the then Mohali SSP, Kuldeep Singh Chahal.
Through probe, police found that the student initially tried to hang himself from a fan at his flat, but later jumped from the sixth floor of the building. Investigators said the accused threatened and blackmailed the victim, pushing him to take the extreme step.
Both the accused have now been booked under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) at the City Kharar police station. Efforts are underway to arrest them.
