Father of Kota student who killed self suspects foul play, demands fair probe

NEW DELHI: A day after a 16-year-old student allegedly killed himself here after leaving a note that he won't be able to crack JEE, his father on Saturday claimed he suspected foul play in his son's death sought an impartial probe. "Papa Mere se JEE Nahi Ho Payega, Sorry, I quit. (Papa I will not be able to crack JEE. Sorry, I quit)" were the last words of Abhishek Mandal who died on Thursday night by allegedly consuming poison in his paying guest accommodation here. Speaking to reporters on Saturday outside the mortuary where his son's body was kept, the teenager's father Pradeep Mandal said he was handed over the body the day Abhishek was to leave for his home at Bhagalpur in Bihar by train.

According to Circle Officer DSP Dharmveer Singh, the body of Abhishek was found on Friday morning but he he died late Thursday night. Kota City Police handed over Abhishek's body to his family on Saturday noon after postmortem, said Vigyan Nagar Police Station SHO Satish Chand Choudhary. A case has been lodged under Section 174 (inquiry and report on suicide) of the Criminal Procedure Code to investigate the matter, the SHO said. After reaching the mortuary, the teenager's father fainted on seeing his son's body and regained consciousness after a while.

Pradeep told reporters that he could not believe his son had died by suicide. He added that Abhishek was in Kota for over a year and was a good student. The teenager's father said he found his son's death suspicious as his mobile phone was formatted and did not have a SIM card. He demanded and impartial probe into the case. Narrating the incident, Pradeep said he last spoke to his son on Thursday when Abhishek said he would come home on Saturday. He also told his brother that he would return home on Saturday and the tickets were booked, added Pradeep, panchayat head of Murli in Bhagalpur.

Doubt surrounds Kota student's death

The father remembered his deceased son as a "jolly" boy and said there was never any family tension with him. "Whenever we asked him how he was, he said he was good," Pradeep said. He added that Abhishek was the fourth child among his five children. On the claim of the deceased's father about his son's formatted phone, the SHO said the device was yet to be examined.

It is suspected Mandal died after consuming Celphos, a poisonous substance. A vial of the drug was recovered from his room by the police team, Circle Officer Singh had said on Friday. According to the records from the coaching institute Mandal had been studying in for a year, he was supposed to take the JEE Session-1 exam on January 29 but he did not appear for it, the DSP had said. This is the fifth case of suicide by a coaching student in Kota since January. The number of student suicides in Kota stood at 26 in 2023.