TWO STUDENTS’ DEATHS RATTLE JU AND SILIGURI

HT, 5 Dec 2016, Kolkata/ SIliguri: Two young boys’ deaths rattled Kolkata and Siliguri on Sunday. While a studious and cheerful second-year philosophy student of Jadavpur University was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his hostel room, a 16-year-old was found hanging inside a classroom of a girls’ school in Siliguri where his parents work and stay.

In both cases, though the police said that prime facie it appeared to be suicide, the families of the boys refused to toe the line. While the father and brother of JU’s Soumitra De alleged that their boy was murdered and lodged an FIR with the Jadavpur police station, some of Soumitra’s friends hinted at a love angle behind the death.

The friends said Soumitra was his usual cheerful self till Saturday evening but when he failed to turn up till as late as 11:30 in the morning, when food is served at the hostel, they grew suspicious. They informed the authorities and finally broke open the room, only to find him hanging from a ceiling fan. Soumitra’s roommate was away on Saturday night.

It was known that Soumitra had a long telephone conversation with someone on Saturday night and he might have had a girl friend in the nearby KPC Medical College and Hospital.

JU’s vice-chancellor Suranjan Das said, “This is very unfortunate. He was a bright student and I found out that he was very lively. I have spoken to his friends but we can’t say for sure what had happened. It is subject to investigation.”

In Siliguri, Prahlad Roy, a Class 8 student of Vivekananda High School was found hanging from the ceiling fan of a classroom in Hakimpara Girls’ High School. While his father Pulin Roy works as a night guard at the school and runs a tea stall near Siliguri College during the day, his mother works in the same school and the family stays on the campus.

The hapless parents are clueless about why he would end his life. Prahlad was good in sports and won many medals and trophies at a state-level karate championship last year. He has two sisters.