Trigger Warning: This article talks about suicide. If you or someone you know needs help mail icall@tiss.edu or dial 022-25521111 (Monday-Saturday, 8am to 10pm) to reach iCall, a psychosocial helpline set up by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). You can also call +91-9820466726 to reach Aasra, a 24/7 helpline for emotional crisis situations, mental illness issues, and suicidal ideation.
Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar saw protests by students on Tuesday night as news spread of a student having allegedly died by suicide on the same day.
The police said they were informed about the student on Tuesday evening.
What exactly happened?
The police said they received information of an alleged suicide on the campus of the Lovely Professional University on Tuesday evening. They said that they received the information around 5:30 pm.
The Kapurthala police said that they investigated the incident and also recovered a suicide note from the student. The student cited certain personal reasons on the suicide note.
The police have said they informed the student's parents and "Further investigations are on."
Who is the student?
The person who died by suicide was a first-year student of Bachelor of Designing. NDTV reported that the student was a 21-year-old hailing from Kerala.
Why were the students protesting?
After hearing about the suicide on Tuesday, students gathered in large numbers inside the university campus.
Photos from Tuesday showed students gathered on campus.
The Tribune reported that while the students have alleged that this is the second suicide in Lovely Professional University, Phagwara in the last 10 days, and the administration was "tight-lipped" about it, the police have denied these allegations.
According to the report the students wanted to know the reason behind both deaths and hence came out in protest.
Mukhtiar Rai, Phagwara superintended of police told The Times of India, "We have managed the situation after some time as students were sent to their rooms. We also informed the parents of the deceased and they were expected to reach today and we shall proceed further according to their statement."
What have the university authorities said?
The university authorities released a statement saying it was "saddened" by the "unfortunate incident". "The University mourns the loss of the student and expresses its condolences to the bereaved family," the statement read.
The university said it was providing its full support for the investigations.