A student suicide case in Odisha's Ganjam district has reportedly led to the arrest of transport minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena's nephew, on the charges of abetment of suicide.
A woman student, 20, of a private engineering college in Ganjam district was found dead in her hostel room on Saturday, police said, news agency PTI reported.
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The accused has been identified as Biswajit Jena, 24, the nephew of the minister. He was allegedly in a relationship with the deceased woman, a student of Bachelor in Computer Application.
The hostel room, where the woman was found dead on Saturday, had five occupants – the deceased, her sister and three other roommates. A case was registered at Golanthara police station on the charge of abetment to suicide against Biswajit Jena, and an investigation was launched on the complaint of the deceased woman's uncle, police was quoted as saying.
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{{/usCountry}}Senior police officers, including the SP, visited the scene of the crime, and the scientific team and an executive magistrate also visited the spot.
According to the complaint lodged by the deceased student's maternal uncle, Biswajit Jena was also a BCA student at the same college.
Police said the exact cause of the woman's death would be ascertained after receiving the post-mortem report. Investigation is going on, and appropriate action will be taken, he said.
The minister or the accused nephew or any of their family members are yet to make a statement on this incident.
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The suicide case echoed in the political corridors of Odisha as the opposition BJD demanded the immediate arrest of the accused. "The police must arrest the accused, notwithstanding his relationship with the minister. The law must take its own course," said former MLA Ramesh Chandra Ayyau Patnaik, the BJD's Ganjam district president.
The BJP's Ganjam district president Saroj Sabat said police were investigating the case.
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.
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