Dead student was a critic of JNU admission policy
A Dalit JNU scholar, who allegedly committed suicide on Monday evening, was said to be at the forefront of a students’ movement following Rohith Vemula’s death and had severely criticised the varsity’s admission policy in a Facebook post days before taking the extreme step.
In his post which has gone viral, 28-year-old student Muthu Krishnan had also slammed the recent prohibitory order by JNU authorities banning protests at the administration block.
“There is no equality in MPhil/PhD admissions, there is no equality in vivavoce, there is only denial of equality, denying Prof Sukhadeo Thorat recommendation, denying students protest places in Adblock, denying education to the marginals. When Equality is denied everything is denied,” he had written in the Facebook post on March 1.
Police, however, is claiming that he was not associated with any of the politically active groups on JNU campus and there is no prima facie evidence indicating the university administration’s role in the issue.
Krishnan completed his MPhil from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) in 2015 before joining JNU for his PhD.
The student, a resident of JNU’s Jhelum hostel, was found hanging from the ceiling fan at a friend’s residence in South Delhi’s Munirka area on Tuesday.
The JNU Students Union (JNUSU) is alleging that Krishnan was targeted for his association with the movement seeking justice for Rohith Vemula, who had committed suicide last year, and that depression had made him take the extreme step.
According to senior police officials, no suicide note has been recovered and the investigation is underway.
“It is too early to comment on his association (with Rohith Vemula campaign). But so far, we know that he (Krishnan) was not associated with any student groups active in JNU. He neither made any complaint to the JNU administration nor was there any complaint against him by the administration,” DCP (South) Ishwar Singh said.
The reason why the student took the extreme step is not known yet since no suicide note has been recovered, said the officer. Dravida Thambi reports from Chennai:
Meanwhile, political parties in Krishnan’s home state Tami Nadu, including AIADMK and DMK, have expressed concern over the incident and demanded a CBI probe into the issue.
Muthu krishnan, whose father works as a watchman in a remote village in Salem district in western Tamil Nadu and mother is a daily wage worker, had struggled his way up in the academic world, having studied in the Central University of Hyderabad before moving to the JNU. His family members claimed he was a strong person and hence it was inconceivable that he would have committed suicide. “He had participated in the protests seeking justice for Rohit Vemula at the Hyderabad University. It is unfathomable that he would end his life as a coward. There is something fishy here,” said his friend and DYFI functionary Kandavel in Salem district.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh to Muthukrishnan’’s family and extended governmental support to bring his body from New Delhi to Salem.