NEW DELHI/CHENNAI:A 28-year-old post-graduate medical student from Tamil Nadu who was pursuing his studies in University College of Medical Sciences affiliated to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in New Delhi was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his rented flat in Shahdara area sparking outrage in the State, with political parties pushing for a system to prevent such deaths.
The deceased has been identified as Sharath Prabhu. He hails from Coimbatore and was staying in New Delhi since May 2017.“He spoke to his father last around 10.30 pm. In the morning, his roommate called the family and said he was lying unconscious in the bathroom. Prima facie doctors said he was injected with insulin. Whether he injected it or someone else did, we are looking into it,” said a senior police officer. During investigation it was found that Sharath Prabhu was last noticed alive around 11.45 pm when he with his two roommates had dinner.
In Tirupur, Sharath’s uncle Jeyakanthan was horrified to hear the news. Claiming Sharath was good at academics, Jeyakanthan said he was not the kind of person who would commit suicide. He also emphasised that Sharath was a very positive person.
Sharing his shock, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said a registry of students in institutions outside the State was being created to prevent such incidents. However, sources in both the Higher Education and Health departments said it was yet to take off.
A medical student hailing from Coimbatore, who was pursuing studies in the University College of Medical Sciences affiliated to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, was on Wednesday found dead in his rented flat in New Delhi’s Shahdara area.“Prabhu was found unconscious outside the washroom of the apartment around 6.45 am by one of his flatmates who rushed him to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. We found no injury on his person,” a police officer said. His flatmates were being questioned.
Various political party leaders urged the Tamil Nadu government to take appropriate action regarding the incident immediately. Recalling the suicide attempt by Tamil medico M Mariraj practicing in Gujarat, M K Stalin, leader of the DMK, said the government should bring in a system to prevent such unforeseen events.
Vaiko, the leader of MDMK, said, “The State should urge the Centre to hold a CBI probe into his death.” Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said a registry of students is being created to prevent such incidents. However, official sources claimed it will be redundant given that police can easily identify the basic antecedents of a victim that government may possess.
A senior official from the Health Department said the government is monitoring the status of investigation of the death. However, the official also said such a registry for medical students who migrate to other states yet to begin. “We are in close contact with our Delhi counterparts to determine the reason,” the official said.This is the third such incident relating to Tamil students in North India.