Inquiry begins in JNU scholar’s ‘suicide’, kin want CBI probe

MUTHUKRISHNAN WAS FOUND HANGING FROM THE CEILING AT HIS FRIEND’S HOME IN DELHI’S MUNIRKA AREA ON MONDAY EVENING

HYDERABAD/NEWDELHI: A day after a Dalit research scholar of Delhi’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) allegedly committed suicide, police have started inquest proceedings in the case.

The deceased’s father, alleging foul play, has called for a CBI probe even as police said that Jeevanantham Muthukrishnan alias Krish, MPhil student at JNU’s Centre for Historical Studies, was under depression. Police said he was depressed over personal issues, and added no suicide note had been found.

Muthukrishnan was found hanging from the ceiling at his friend’s home in the city’s Munirka area on Monday evening. The 27-year-old was an alumnus of the University of Hyderabad, which became a flashpoint of students’ agitation last year following the alleged suicide of another scholar, Rohith Vemula.

Muthukrishnan, a native of Tamil Nadu’s Salem, wrote about discrimination against Dalits in one of his last Facebook posts.

“There is no Equality in M.phil/PhD Admission, there is no equality in Viva - voce, there is only denial of equality… When equality is denied everything is denied, ” the March 10 post said.

His Facebook posts show that he knew Vemula and had been active during protests following his death, police said.

Even though he was a member of Ambedkar Students’ Union in Hyderabad, investigators said that in JNU, Muthukrishnan was not affiliated to any political party or group or union and was not found to be active in any political assembly inside the campus. He had reportedly joined the course in October and was staying in Jhelum hostel.

There was no evidence that Jeevanantham killed himself owing to any issues at the university, said a police officer.

The police will write to Facebook demanding access to Muthukrishnan’s account. “His last post was on March 10.