India News | Rishikesh Was 'disturbed', Felt 'humiliated', Had Twice Gone to IIT Buildings Intending to End His Life: Brother
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Speaking to ANI, Rishikesh's brother said the student had attempted to end his life twice in the days leading up to his death and had previously gone to the upper floors of a building on the IIT Delhi campus with the intention of jumping.
By Vishu Adhana
New Delhi [India], August 25 (ANI): Days before 31-year-old IIT Delhi MSc Physics student Rishikesh Kumar died by suicide, he had allegedly become increasingly disturbed, repeatedly described himself as a "big loser" and told his mother that he was having suicidal thoughts, his brother Abhishek Kumar has alleged.
Also Read | Air India Seeks USD 1.5 Billion in Fresh Equity From Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines: Report.
Speaking to ANI, Rishikesh's brother said the student had attempted to end his life twice in the days leading up to his death and had previously gone to the upper floors of a building on the IIT Delhi campus with the intention of jumping.
"He had started feeling like a complete failure in life. For nearly a week, he had lost interest in everything. He would not properly use his mobile phone, would not work on his laptop or type anything and had abandoned almost everything," the brother said.
Also Read | GTA 6 Leaks Continue as CyberLeek Publishes Beach Gameplay and Defends Crypto Scheme.
According to him, Rishikesh would repeatedly tell their mother: "Mummy, there is so much going on inside my mind. I feel like such a big loser. I am getting suicidal thoughts."
The family alleged that Rishikesh had been deeply affected by his interactions with the institute's administration and had felt humiliated and disturbed in the days before his death. The allegations are among the issues the family wants examined as part of a proper inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death.
According to the brother, Rishikesh had on several occasions gone to the upper floors of a building on the IIT campus without informing anyone, intending to end his life.
"He later told my mother, 'Mummy, I am such a big loser. I went there to die, but I could not even do that,'" the brother said.His mother would try to counsel him and convince him against taking such a step. Rishikesh, according to the family, told her that thoughts of what would happen to his mother made him return.
On another occasion, including a day before his death, he allegedly went to the terrace of a building again. Looking down from the building frightened him, the family said, and he returned after thinking about his mother.
"He would repeatedly tell her, 'Mummy, I don't want to live. I don't want to live,'" his brother said.
The family said they had spoken to him at length on the night before the incident and were considering taking him to a doctor again, arranging counselling and exploring whatever treatment and support he required.
The next morning, his brother said, Rishikesh left home while his mother was asleep. She had reportedly stayed awake through the night and believed that he too was resting.
"He quietly left the house, took his mobile phone and went to the IIT campus," the brother said.
The family was subsequently informed that Rishikesh had gone up the building in a lift and jumped from the sixth floor. His brother said he received a call from Kishangarh police station informing him of the death.
"He had started feeling like a complete failure in life... He was saying there was so much going on inside his mind and that he was getting suicidal thoughts," the brother said.
The family was staying in a rented two-room apartment after Rishikesh was allegedly not provided hostel accommodation by the institute, his brother said.
"Yes, we were staying in an apartment. We had taken a two-room accommodation, where he and our mother were living. Since he was not provided hostel accommodation by the institute, we arranged this place and were staying there," he said.
The brother alleged that the family was not directly informed about the incident by IIT Delhi.
"I received a call from Kishangarh police station. An SI called and informed me that my brother had died by suicide," he said.
"We did not receive any information from the university. Nobody from the university came to visit us or contacted us. Whatever we came to know about the incident, we learned through the police station."
He said there were security guards and other people at the location but alleged that the university did not directly provide the family with information about what had happened.
Calling for accountability and a thorough inquiry, Rishikesh's brother said the family wanted to ensure that no other student faced similar circumstances.
"Our only demand is that there should be a proper inquiry and accountability, so that what happened to my brother does not happen to anyone else. Today, it is my brother; tomorrow, it could be somebody else's brother or another student," he said.
"Students come to such a prestigious institution with dreams they have carried since childhood. They make enormous sacrifices to reach a place like IIT. We do not want any other student to go through such circumstances or for such a tragedy to happen again."
Rishikesh's death had triggered protests on the IIT Delhi campus, with students demanding a probe into the circumstances surrounding the incident. On Monday, IIT Delhi constituted a five-member External Inquiry Committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the death.
According to IIT sources, the committee includes former Uttarakhand Director General of Police and IIT Delhi alumnus Ashok Kumar and AIIMS New Delhi's Department of Psychiatry head Prof Pratap Sharma, among others. The committee was constituted a day after hundreds of students gathered on the campus to demand an inquiry into Rishikesh's death.
The family's allegations regarding the circumstances that allegedly led to his distress are expected to form part of the broader questions surrounding the incident and the demand for an independent inquiry. (ANI)
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)