Bengaluru: College student dies by suicide; FIR against three classmates

BENGALURU: A 22-year-old college student allegedly died by suicide, following which a case has been registered against three of his classmates on charges of abetment, police said on Wednesday.

The deceased, Arun C from Hassan, was found hanging from an iron rod with a saree at his home on July 11. He had returned home for the vacation after completing his eighth-semester exams, police said. Arun was an architecture student at a private college in the city.

At the time of the incident, his parents—daily-wage labourers—were away at work. Police recovered a death note in which Arun did not hold anyone responsible for taking the extreme step. The note did not mention the names of any classmates. Initially, a case of "unnatural death" was registered.

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However, the case took a turn after Arun's parents approached the Madanayakanahalli police station with a complaint, accusing three of his classmates of "harassing" their son on a college WhatsApp group. They alleged this "harassment" led to his death.

In the FIR, the parents claimed Arun had been subjected to "mental harassment and humiliation" by the three classmates for over a year. They allegedly sent "derogatory messages" about him in the class WhatsApp group, a fact later confirmed to the parents by two of Arun’s friends.

The complaint also mentioned that Arun had recorded a video expressing his distress and shared it in the class WhatsApp group shortly before his death—a detail the parents discovered only after his demise. "Based on the complaint, we have registered an FIR against the three students under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The matter is under investigation, and further legal action will follow based on the findings," a senior police officer said. As part of the probe, the police will soon issue notices to Arun’s roommates, friends, classmates, and college authorities to ascertain the circumstances leading to his death.