BHUBANESWAR: AN Odia faculty member of National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his hostel on Monday.
The 28-year-old man belonging to Bentapur area in Puri district was working as an assistant professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering in the institute. Authorities of the institute on Wednesday informed that he was detected coronavirus positive. His family members, however, suspected foul play and said he had no symptoms while he stayed in Odisha and until he left for Himachal Pradesh on August 24.
“He reached the institute’s guesthouse on August 25 and was asked to undergo quarantine. He was shifted to his room in the institute’s hostel on September 6 and till then he had showed no symptoms of the disease,” said one of his friends, Dr Deepayan Priyadarshi, who works as an assistant professor with a private university in Chhattisgarh.
On of his friends called him multiple times on Sunday but he did not respond after which she informed his family members. They contacted warden of the hostel on Monday. The hostel officials then broke open the door and found him lying on the ground with blood, which had oozed out of his mouth and nose. “He joined NIT-Hamirpur in November last year but he was reluctant to interact with others in the institute. He had told me that they were not very friendly towards him,” said Priyadarshi.
Most of the faculty members were working from home after the outbreak of the pandemic but a senior official of his department asked him to report to work immediately failing which he would face pay cut, he added.
The deceased’s uncle lodged a complaint with DGP Abhay on Wednesday and requested him to contact Himachal Pradesh Police and urge them to look into the matter.
Odisha Police officers have contacted their counterparts in Himachal Pradesh and requested them to look into the matter. Speaking to TNIE over phone, an officer of Hamirpur Sadar police station said investigation into the case is on.