Odisha student dies by suicide, family blames female friend

Police said the mother of the deceased boy has alleged harassment of her son by the woman's father, mother and brother.

Family of the 18-year-old boy who allegedly died by suicide in his hostel room at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Odisha has accused his female friend and her family for pushing him to take the extreme step.

Police said the mother of the deceased boy has alleged harassment of her son by the woman's father, mother and brother. A case has been registered at Infocity Police Station against the woman, her father, mother and brother for abetment of suicide, among other sections of the BNS, news agency PTI reported.

What the police said

“The complaint alleges harassment of her son by the father, mother and brother of the woman,” the police was quoted as saying. Police said the preliminary inquiry points to friendship of the deceased student with “a woman of the same age based in Chhattisgarh” and that complications in the relationship might have led to differences between them.

“The autopsy was conducted at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar in presence of the magistrate and family members of the deceased student,” police said.

Third suicide at KIIT this year

According to reports, this is the third suicide incident being reported from the college in Bhubaneswar. Earlier, two female Nepalese students were found hanging in their hostel rooms on the KIIT campus on February 16 and May 1, respectively.

What has the college said?

Terming the the incident “sad and unfortunate”, the KIIT said the student died by suicide owing to “personal reasons”.

“It is believed to be a love-related incident. The student died by suicide due to personal reasons. The student's mother has also informed about this. His mother said that he had been in love with a young woman,” it said in a statement.

“After the postmortem, his mother informed that the woman's father and family had threatened and intimidated the student. As a result, he was forced to die by suicide. The deceased’s family has said it will file a police complaint against the girl’s family,” the KIIT statement said further.

The institute also expressed concern over the "increasing rate" of suicide among students in various educational institutions in Odisha and outside it.

Victim's mother blames college for having ceiling fans

The deceased student’s mother also spoke about her reservations about ceiling fans in the KIIT hostel.

“The college authority is also to be blamed for keeping overhead fans in hostel rooms. There is no such facility in several hostels in Kota (Rajasthan), where thousands study,” she said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).