‘Posts on suicide show he was seeking help’ ‘CAN’T IGNORE DEPRESSION AMONG YOUTH ANY LONGER’

Arjun Bharadwaj, 23, was battling several issues; he had failed in college and was under pressure to support his family of four

The Bandra police, investigating the suicide of a 23-year-old Arjun Bharadwaj on Monday night, said he had been writing about suicide on his Facebook page for few days and that the posts may have been a call for help.

As part of the investigation, his mobile phone has been sent for forensic analysis to help the police learn more about his activities. Bharadwaj jumped off the 19th floor of a five-star hotel at Bandstand on Monday evening after writing several suicide notes and uploading a video of himself – which he termed a suicide tutorial – on Facebook.

The Mumbai police have blocked the video on the grounds that it could influence others and have also requested the media not to publish it.

Bharadwaj lived alone at Andheri, the police said. His father had come to Mumbai from Bengaluru three days ago after his son’s friends told him about the Facebook posts on suicide.

On Saturday, Bharadwaj’s father met him and tried to speak to him out but to no avail. Senior inspector Pandit Thakare of Bandra police station said, “His friends and family members were to meet us today but couldn’t. We respect their privacy. We will speak to them in the next few days.” Bharadwaj halso mentioned drug abuse in his suicide notes and video, and when asked if the police planned to investigate the source of drugs, Thakare said, “We will try but I don’t know if his friends will help us.”

Bharadwaj, the Bandra police said, had several issues. He had failed in college and was unable to clear his the third year of his Bcom course. His father was a retired businessman and so there was immense pressure on him to complete his studies and get a job to support the family of four. His only sibling, a younger brother, is in Class 10. Because of these problems, the police said, he had slipped into depression and gradually taken to drugs. “He also consumed liquor before taking his life, which is a very common among people before they commit suicide,” said a doctor at a post mortem centre.

After the death o 23-year-old Arjun Bharadwaj on Monday, Hindustan Times spoke to several teachers and principals of city colleges about counselling and the ability of students of cope with stress and mental illness.

While many colleges have vol untarily hired counsellors to interact with students, the Uni versity Grants Commission (UGC) recently reiterated the need for a full-time or part-time counsellor on campus to address students’ problems.

Rajpal Hande, principal o Mithibai College, Vile Parle, said “We have a full-time counsellor who visited all classrooms at the beginning of the academic year and is available on campus all day for the benefit of students. With better awareness, students also voluntarily approach the coun sellor.”

However, he added that the bigger problem was the taboo surrounding mental health which he said prompted students to hide their problems.

Some principals also blamed growing isolation amongs youngsters and a growing dependence on the virtual world “Students barely share problems with their peers or parents any more. They instead build an illu sionary world in their head. Tha is one of the biggest challenges the new generation faces,” said Dinesh Panjwani, principal of R D National College, Bandra. He said that improving interactions between students and teachers could make it easier to identify mental health problems “Depression among youngsters cannot be ignored any longer,” he said.

Others said that providing emotional support could not be restricted to colleges and that stu dents should have an equally sup portive and welcoming atmos phere at home. “Parents have become so busy with their own lives that no one checks on chil dren anymore,” said the princi pal of a Kandivli-based college who did not wish to be named.

Many colleges are also asking their teachers to be more alert to behavioural problems among students in classrooms.