UoH student Mayukh dies by suicide, mob harassment and assault alleged |
Mayukh Kundu, a first-year MA student at the University of Hyderabad (UoH), allegedly died by suicide on May 18. His body was found in the Buffalo Lake on campus on the next day, May 19.
Several student groups at UoH have alleged that just before he was last seen on the night of May 17, a group of students affiliated with the right-wing student outfit Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) held Mayukh in their room and assaulted him, accusing him of stealing laptops.
ABVP has denied any connection with the incident, and the police too have said that they have not found anyone responsible for abetment of suicide.
Mayukh was a student of MA Financial Economics hailing from West Bengal. On the night of May 17, he was allegedly accused of theft when some laptops went missing on campus. A complaint was registered at the Gachibowli police station on May 18, about two laptops being stolen from the reading room of the university on May 17.
A group of students affiliated with ABVP, along with members of the present ABVP-led Students' Union, allegedly assembled outside F-Hostel in the name of taking action against Mayukh, according to a joint statement issued by several progressive student groups – Ambedkar Students' Association (ASA), Students' Federation of India (SFI), All India Students' Association (AISA), Bahujan Students' Front (BSF), Dalit Students' Union (DSU), Bharat Rashtra Samithi Vidyarthi Vibhagam (BRSV), Muslim Students Federation (MSF), PDSU (Progressive Democratic Students Union), and Tribal Student's Forum (TSF) – on May 21.
The statement alleged that “[the] gathering quickly escalated into a mob that bypassed institutional procedures and assumed unlawful authority. The mob engaged in........