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Burnt body of student found in RIMS hostel
“The postgraduate student was residing in room number 79 on the top floor of a three-story hostel No.5, with a capacity to accommodate 150 students. Following the recovery of the body, a dog squad and an FSL team were called in to conduct a thorough investigation. We have collected the student’s mobile phone and sealed his room,” said an official from the Bariatu police station.
Police recovered the burnt body of a second-year student in the forensic medicine and toxicology (FMT) department of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) from hostel premises in Jharkhand’s Ranchi district on Thursday, officials familiar with the developments said.
The body was discovered around 5:30 a.m. by the police patrolling party after receiving information from a student on the RIMS campus, a police official said.
“The postgraduate student was residing in room number 79 on the top floor of a three-story hostel No.5, with a capacity to accommodate 150 students. His native place is Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. Following the recovery of the body, a dog squad and an FSL team were called in to conduct a thorough investigation. We have collected the student’s mobile phone and sealed his room,” said the official from the Bariatu police station.
Ranchi senior superintendent of police (SSP), Chandan Kumar Sinha, said that the police are considering both suicide and murder angles.
“However, a first information (FIR) has not yet been registered in this case,” he said.
“A formal FIR will be registered when the student’s family members arrive in the city and provide their statements to the police. We have initiated an investigation from two angles -- suicide and homicide. We are awaiting a report from the Forensic Science Laboratory to proceed further in the matter,” Sinha added.
Sub-inspector from the Bariatu police station, Husnain Ansari, who was assigned to investigate the case, noted that a black oily substance resembling engine oil (Mobil) and footprints were observed on the rooftop of the hostel where the student was residing.
“No suicide note was found in his room. Those residing in the hostel did not notice any unusual behaviour in the student whose body was recovered.”
A police official present at the scene stated, “The circumstances suggest that the student either committed suicide by setting himself on fire and jumping from the rooftop or someone set him on fire, forcing him to jump from the rooftop with no means to go downstairs for help from other students. However, the ‘why’ remains a mystery in both situations. Since there are no CCTV cameras on the hostel premises, we are facing difficulties in obtaining any clues. This incident marks the first time such an occurrence has taken place in the hostel.”
A student from the RIMS FMT department commented, “The student attended his duty yesterday. His mother suffered from dengue, and he had recently gone to visit her. The police should thoroughly investigate the matter. When someone sustains a burn injury, they typically shout due to severe pain. It’s a mystery why no one heard him shouting, especially during the morning hours when students return to their hostel rooms after emergency duty.”