BHUBANESWAR: A law student, who allegedly died by suicide on Sunday evening, had posted a message on Instagram mentioning his intent minutes before he took the extreme step. Friends of the victim, a student of BBA LLB at National Law University (NLUO) in Cuttack, were alarmed after reading the message and started frantic efforts to trace his mobile phone location.
Sources said the youth went incommunicado after leaving the college in the evening after which his friends informed CDA Phase - II police station. Cuttack police traced the student’s mobile phone location at an apartment in Bhubaneswar and informed their counterparts at Kharavela Nagar here at around 8.30 pm. However, the youth had by then died by suicide by jumping from the eighth floor of Chandrama Apartment. Police seized his broken mobile phone.
Initial investigation suggests the youth had it all planned as he reportedly told the security guards of the apartment at around 7.25 pm that he wanted to meet a friend staying in another flat of the apartment which is vacant for the last two years. Police examined CCTV footage of the apartment and ascertained he stepped out of the lift on the eighth floor.
The victim was speaking over his mobile phone when he took the stairs and possibly went to the seventh floor. But he returned after two minutes. He then jumped from the balcony of the building.
Meanwhile, a day after the incident, NLUO said its executive council has approved a proposal for compulsory participation of every student in mental health awareness programmes.
“NLUO is in the process of institutionalising the ‘Yes Plus’ programme which will be conducted by experts of the Art of Living Foundation for all our students. We hope it will help us in identifying the students in need of support. We are committed to providing all assistance to any student who needs it,” read a statement issued by the university.
In a separate incident, a 22-year-old student of Odisha University of Technology and Research who recently appeared in his final year integrated MSc examinations allegedly died by suicide in his hostel room on Sunday. Police seized a note from the spot.