BENGALURU: Six staffers of the Air Force Technical College (AFTC) in Jalahalli have been booked for murder under section 302 of the IPC after the suspicious death of a 27-year-old student of the college Ankit Kumar Jha, who was found dead on the college premises on Wednesday.
The six suspects are of the ranks of Air Commodore, Group Captain and Wing Commander.
The Gangammanagudi police have registered a case based on a complaint by the deceased's brother Aman Jha, a native of Uttam Nagar in West Delhi, filed around 2.20 am on Thursday.
Jha has left behind a seven-page death note, allegedly mentioning the names of all the six suspects. “Investigation is on. No arrests have been made. It appears that he has died by hanging himself. The postmortem report will ascertain the cause of the death. The statements of the suspects can indicate why the deceased took the extreme step,” said an officer.
“One trainee officer, who was discharged from service after court of inquiry, was found hanging yesterday evening. A case has been registered,” said Vinayak Patil, DCP (North).
Speaking to TNIE, Richa Thakur, the deceased’s cousin, alleged that Jha was murdered. “He was under severe mental trauma as disciplinary action was taken against him. He was also terminated in July. The details of his termination cannot be shared unless his parents allow me to do so. While taking to me over phone, Ankit told me that he was being forced to sign certain documents. We suspect he must have died around 4.30 pm on Wednesday after sending a message to his brother Aman, who was in Kochi. The AFTC officials did not inform us about the death. After repeated phone calls went unanswered, we went there by 7 pm, and learnt about his death,” she said.
Two AFTC staffers took us to a small medical room where the body was kept, she added.
Later the body was shifted to the MS Ramaiah Hospital’s mortuary. “Around 4.47 am, AFTC officials handed over the suicide note, and two mobile phones of the deceased to the Gangammanagudi police, who gave it to us to read as it was in Hindi. The note clearly mentions harassment and torture,” said Richa.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)