HCU scholar consumed poison, say police
TIMES NEWS NETWORK, Hyderabad:
A day after Ph.D scholar Senthil Kumar was found dead on the University of Hyderabad (HCU) campus, police on Monday claimed the student committed suicide. “After the postmortem at Gandhi Hospital, doctors declared Senthil Kumar committed suicide by consuming poison,” police sources told ‘TOI’. Though there was no preliminary postmortem report, the sources said the initial observations by the doctors who performed the postmortem was that it was a case of suicide.
“Doctors said he consumed poison,” said a police officer. In a related development, HCU students on Monday morning staged a dharna in front of the vice-chancellor’s office protesting the scholar’s death. The university authorities promised the protesting students that a probe would be ordered if the postmortem report confirms the death as suicide. “University authorities promised that an inquiry committee will be formed if the postmortem report says it is suicide,” S Harnath, a Ph.D scholar and a student union representative, told ‘TOI’. “So, far we have not received any official report about the reasons for the death. If the postmortem report confirms it as a suicide, there will be an inquiry,” HCU registrar R Y Narasimhulu said.
Earlier on Monday, HCU students boycotted classes demanding an internal inquiry into the death. All the major student unions organised a rally on the campus and staged a dharna in front of the administrative block. HCU vice-chancellor Seyed E Hasnain and registrar R Y Narasimhulu met the students who gave a list of their demands. The demands included—all Ph.D students be given scholarship irrespective of they clearing the course work; all Ph.d students be assigned a guide immediately after they get admission and Senthil’s family be given Rs 10 lakh as compensation. The authorities said they were seriously considering the issue. “Scholarship issue can be decided only by academic council of the university and when it comes to compensation there is no such provision in the university guidelines,” the registrar said.
However, he said the student’s family would get the insurance amount from the insurance agency under the university health insurance scheme which is mandatory for every student. Senthil Kumar’s family members took his body to their home town, Salem, on Monday evening.
