JNU death row rocks LS & RS; Delhi Police files case

New Delhi: The Delhi police on Wednesday registered a case of abetment to suicide under various sections of The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs) Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act in connection with the death of a 28-year-old Jawaharlal Nehru University PhD student J. Muthukrishnan who was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his friend’s South Delhi residence on Monday.

Earlier in the day, several opposition members had raised the issue of discrimination on campuses in both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the House that she had met family members and friends of the deceased student and the government was also considering his father’s request for a job for his sisters.

Opposition members in the Lok Sabha had also sought a probe into the suspected suicide by alleging he was a victim of  “caste discrimination”. Responding to the members’ concerns, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar assured the House of “suitable action” and said the entire House shared the grief over the death of Muthukrishnan Jeevanantham, a PhD student at JNU’s Centre for Historical Studies.

A senior police officer said  that the autopsy report of the AIIMS stated that the Dalit research scholar had died due to asphyxia and no injury mark was found on his body.

The five-member medical board constituted to conduct the autopsy, in its preliminary report, has stated that the death was due to hanging and no injury marks were present on the body.

“The death was due to asphyxia (a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body due to abnormal breathing) as a result of ante-mortem hanging. No injury mark has been found in any part of the body,” Dr Sudhir Gupta, head of AIIMS’ forensic department, said.

“There were signs of dribbling of saliva on the face of the deceased which is a sure sign of ante-mortem hanging. Viscera has been preserved for chemical analysis,” Dr Gupta
added. The body of the JNU research scholar was embalmed and handed over to police, he said, adding the autopsy procedure was videographed.

Several political parties in Salem continued their protest for the third consecutive day on Wednesday demanding a judicial probe into the death.

Muthukrishnan’s father Jeevanandam, who is in Delhi, is likely to reach Chennai by flight and then to Salem by Wednesday night with the body of the youth. A large number of public and leaders of various political parties have been visiting the house of Muthukrishnan.