By Priya Rathnam
Copyright deccanchronicle
Hyderabad: An engineering student died by suicide in Medipally after alleged harassment by fellow students and two outsiders. Police have booked cases under abetment to suicide and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.The student, a native of Utnoor in Adilabad district, was in his second year at Siddhartha Institute of Technology and Sciences, Narapally, and stayed in the campus hostel. Police said he was harassed by at least nine persons, including juniors, detained students and two outsiders. The accused reportedly forced him to arrange alcohol and later imposed a bill of Rs 10,000, which he was unable to pay.The deceased was reportedly bullied regularly. However, the police claim that the so-called seniors are detained students. It is yet unclear how the detained students were allowed into the college campus and the police have been inconsistent with both the parents and the media when seeking information.Before his death, the student sent a selfie video to his parents and friends, naming those he feared. In the video, he said, “Dear Father, I am scared of a few people in the college. Around four to five members are taking money from me. It is not just verbal but also a physical attack. I am not feeling good about it,” and also mentioned one Chinna Babu.The incident triggered protests at the college. His father alleged, “The police remained silent about the incident. We demand a thorough investigation. It is a murder and not a suicide. My son is no coward, but the police took more than 12 hours to hand over the body, and we were not informed about the developments.”Police maintained that the case was registered after an initial inquiry, and the body was sent for a post-mortem. “The case is booked under abetment to suicide and the SC/ST Act. Teams are on the lookout for the accused,” an officer said.Sources told Deccan Chronicle that several accused switched off their phones and went into hiding after learning of the suicide. Tracking one active number led police to two others, and three suspects have since been detained for questioning.
