Probe on into death of Visva Bharati student from Varanasi: Bengal police
A 22-year-old third-year undergraduate student from Visva Bharati University’s art department allegedly died by suicide inside her hostel room on the afternoon of September 5
West Bengal’s Birbhum district police are investigating a Visva Bharati University student’s death by suicide on September 5 following a complaint lodged by her parents who live in Varanasi, police said.
The 22-year-old third-year undergraduate student from the art department allegedly died by suicide inside her hostel room on the afternoon of September 5. The woman from Uttar Pradesh was first rushed to the clinic on campus and later to a district hospital where she died hours later. Her parents, who came rushing from Varanasi, claimed that she died by suicide under tremendous mental pressure.
“A forensic team collected samples from the hostel room which has been sealed. The investigation started on the basis of a complaint lodged by the parents on September 6,” Rana Mukherjee, additional superintendent of the Bolpur police, told the media.
The hostel inmates told the police that the student appeared worried in the last few weeks and she collected money from fellow students and teachers saying her sister had met with an accident in Uttar Pradesh and needed to undergo an expensive operation.
She also sent portions of a WhatsApp chat to a classmate which indicated that someone was threatening her.
Police have collected the mobile phone and bank account details of the deceased amid speculations on campus that she was collecting money to pay a blackmailer.
Founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921, Visva Bharati is West Bengal’s only Central university. The Prime Minister is the chancellor.
In September 2023, Santiniketan, the town where Tagore’s father Maharshi Debendranath Tagore set up the first school which subsequently became a university, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.