Seniors Under Scanner In BJB College Student’s Death; Check ‘Suicide Note’

Bhubaneswar: A day after the alleged suicide by a BJB College student in Odisha capital, the Twin Commissionerate Police on Sunday formed a three-member special team led by an additional DCP rank official to probe the matter.

According to sources, the team reached the hostel to question the warden and inmates this morning. All 134 hostel inmates to be questioned; college staff, hostel superintendent and warden have been brought under the purview of investigation.

The Plus III first-year student, Ruchika Mohanty, who hails from Athagarh in Cuttack district, was found dead in room 201 at Karubaki Hostel around 11 am on Saturday. A purported note found by police pointed at harassment by three seniors to be the reason behind the 19-year-old’s extreme step.

“Seniors tortured me in the hostel. Three of my seniors mentally harassed me. I could not tolerate it. I could not even tell anybody about this. My parents and family members love me. They face lots of hardship to fund my education. They have a high hope that I will become a collector one day. But I got mentally depressed because of the seniors,” said the girl in a purported suicide letter.

In the note, she also mentioned the hardships her parents underwent for her education and expected her to become a Collector in future. She had also taken admission in an institution last month to prepare for Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations.

“Nobody knows that there is ragging incident happening in my college, but my seniors did not let me live. I give my life for those three of my seniors. They pushed me into depression and did not let me continue to study. I could not even tell my problems to my roommates. Finally, I quit,” she added.

She, however, did not mention the names of the students.

A classmate, on the condition of anonymity, said that some hostel boarders, who are students of the Science stream, were harassing her. Ruchika’s mother, on the other hand, said the seniors had recently stopped a freshers’ party recently to show their dominance. Since then, she was being mentally harassed by the seniors, who had threatened her not to disclose the incident, she added.

Police sources said that she was staying along with her three friends in another room instead of the one allotted to her. On Saturday, she excused herself from attending classes saying that she was feeling unwell. When the friends returned, she did not open the door. They informed the warden and college Principal Dr Niranjan Mishra intimated the police. When the door was broken open, Ruchika was found hanging from a rope tied to one of the windows.

Amid protests by students, Principal Mishra told the media that an internal enquiry will be conducted to identify the seniors who harassed her.

Meanwhile, Badagada police registered a case under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

While the identity of the ‘accused’ senior is yet to be established, Higher Education Minister Rohit Pujari tweeted to condole the untimely death of the girl student and assured of appropriate action after receiving the police probe report.

Notably, first-year MBBS student Nishant Kumar of Bhima Bhoi medical college and hospital at Balangir allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the college hostel building on April 22.