Kerala student found dead in Bengaluru hostel, family suspects foul play

A 19-year-old Kerala student, Adhityan P A, died by alleged suicide in a Bengaluru hostel, with police citing possible depression, while his family suspects foul play and has demanded a thorough probe into circumstances, including alleged harassment and hostel-related incidents

Bengaluru/Thiruvananthapuram: A 19-year-old student from Kerala, who was studying at a private nursing college in Bengaluru, allegedly died by suicide in his hostel room, police said on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Adhityan P A, a second-year student at a nursing college in Bommasandra, they said.

On April 29, he was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room, police said, adding that he left behind a suicide note stating that no one was responsible for his death. Preliminary investigation suggested that he may have been suffering from depression, and there may have been other issues which are being probed, a senior police officer said.

---

According to police, in his complaint, the deceased’s father, S Pradeep Kumar, claimed that a college representative informed him upon his arrival in Bengaluru that his son had died under suspicious circumstances and that it was a case of suicide in the college hostel. “However, I firmly believe that my son would not have taken such a step. He was of good character and mentally strong. Therefore, I strongly suspect foul play in his death,” he claimed.

He also highlighted an incident that occurred approximately 20 days ago, when his son informed him that some of his hostel roommates were involved in drug use and were caught by hostel authorities. “They were warned along with my son, although he was innocent and not involved in the incident. This situation may be relevant to the present case,” he stated.

The complainant has urged the police to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the matter and take appropriate legal action. A case of unnatural death has been registered at Hebbagudi Police Station here. Further investigation is underway, and all allegations are being examined, police said.

Meanwhile, Adhityan was cremated at his residence in Aruvikkara, Thiruvananthapuram, on Friday afternoon. After post-mortem procedures, the body was handed over to relatives, who brought it to Aruvikkara on Friday morning.

Speaking to reporters at his house, Adhityan’s father alleged that a teacher had humiliated his son in front of classmates around three weeks ago by linking him to students allegedly involved in drug abuse.
“He had told us about this when he recently came home on leave. Other than this, he had no other issues. He had contacted us recently, and he was normal then,” Kumar said.

He further alleged that the college authorities did not reveal the full circumstances of the incident when informing the family about Adhityan’s death. “Instead, we were only asked to reach the college urgently,” he said. Kumar demanded a proper probe into the incident and decided to approach the governments of Kerala and Karnataka in this regard.