Mumbai: Police have initiated an investigation into the apparent suicide of a 26-year-old nursing student in the hostel attached to Jaslok Hospital. Police said the body of Narayani Awasthi was found in the hostel bathroom on Saturday morning. They said Narayani, a third year BSc student, killed herself around 9 a.m.
“Narayani had not been keeping well for the last few days. Her superiors had asked her to see a doctor. One of her colleagues, who also stays in the hostel, had offered to take her to one. When the colleague came to her room, she said she wanted to use the bathroom before leaving. When she did not come out for a long time, her colleague raised an alarm,” an officer at Gamdevi police station, where the case has been registered, said.
Security guards attached to the hostel forced open the bathroom door and found Narayani hanging from the shower by a nylon rope. She was taken to Jaslok Hospital, where she was declared dead before admission.
Sources said Narayani left a suicide note in which she said that she was taking the extreme step because of “what happened on Friday”. Police will record statements of her colleagues and superiors at the hospital on Sunday to try and find out what she was referring to.
Senior PI Netaji Bhopale declined to comment on the contents of the suicide note, saying, “It would not be proper to reveal details at this stage as it might hamper the investigation. I can only confirm that the suicide note does not blame any one person as responsible. We are probing the matter.”
The police are currently going through Narayani’s cell phone and laptop for clues that might point towards the reason. An Accidental Death Report has been registered, they said.
In a statement, Jaslok Hospital said Narayani had done her graduation from U.P. and had joined the course here in 2014. Hospital authorities said they cannot comment on what could have driven her to take the extreme step. Principal K.R. Mangalam said, “We are disturbed by the demise of the student. It could be that she was under pressure as she couldn’t cope with the expectations of the course.” He added she wasn’t performing well.
