The Delhi Police have registered a case of abetment to suicide under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in connection with the death of a 28-year-old Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student two days ago.
J. Muthukrishnan, an M.Phil student, was found hanging from a fan at his friend’s residence in Munirka on Monday evening. His father Jeevanandam had demanded that a case be registered into the matter.
“We took the prosecution department’s opinion and decided to register a case,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police-I (South) Chinmoy Biswal.
Muthukrishnan, a Dalit, claimed to have faced discrimination all his life through his Facebook posts.
Autopsy videographed
On Wednesday, a five-member medical board conducted an autopsy, which was videographed.
“The death was caused due to asphyxia (a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body due to abnormal breathing) as a result of ante-mortem hanging. No injury mark has been found on any part of the body,” said Dr. Sudhir Gupta, Head of the Forensic Department at AIIMS.
Viscera preserved
Dr. Gupta added that there were signs of saliva dribbling down Muthukrishnan’s face, which he said were a sign of ante-mortem hanging.
However, to ascertain or rule out poisoning, the student’s viscera has been preserved for chemical analysis.
The body of the JNU research scholar was later embalmed and handed over to the police, said Mr. Biswal.
The autopsy was initially scheduled for Tuesday, which is when Muthukrishnan’s body was taken to AIIMS.
However, it had to be postponed after the student’s family and friends, along with some politicians, demanded that a certain expert from Tamil Nadu be present during the autopsy.
Matter in Parliament
The matter came up in Parliament on Wednesday with Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman telling the House that she had met the family and friends of the deceased.
She added that the government was considering Muthukrishnan’s father’s request for a job for his sisters.
