Fine arts student commits suicide in Hyd varsity hostel

A fine arts student at the University of Hyderabad, which was rocked by the suicide of PhD scholar Rohith Vemula earlier this year, allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room in the wee hours on Saturday apparently under depression, police said.

Nelli Praveen Kumar, aged about 25, a first semester student of Master of Fine Arts (MFA) course of Department of Fine Arts, Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, was found hanging from ceiling in the room at about 4.15 am, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Madhapur) Kartikeya told reporters. As per the information available so far, Praveen belongs to a backward caste, the DCP said.

Praveen’s roommate, M Raj, who is also his classmate, returned from his painting studio and found the room latched from inside. When Praveen did not open the door despite several knocks, his roommate alerted other students in the hostel. They managed to push the door open and found him (Praveen) hanging from the ceiling, he said.

“Praveen was immediately shifted to the University Health Centre. After preliminary examination by the medical officer, he was rushed to a private hospital. After examining him, doctors declared him dead,” the senior police officer said.

On receiving information, police reached the hospital and one team went to the hostel room and recovered a laptop, a tablet, two cell phones and two notebooks after a search.

“In one of the notebooks, a note has been found, which is believed to have been written by the deceased, but the handwriting has to be compared for which it will be sent to forensic science laboratory,” the DCP said.

As per the content of that particular note, it seems that Praveen was apparently under depression and perhaps he was “comparing his own performance”, Kartikeya said. “During the investigation, we spoke to some people, who were known to him, including his roommate, about what could be the possible reason (for the suicide). We are analysing all evidences... We need to speak to some more people and also his family members to verify if he had any personal issues. Step by step, investigation is underway and it will be done in a fair manner,” he said. 

Pro Vice-Chancellor of University of Hyderabad Vipin Srivastava said Praveen was admitted to MFA 

course around one-and-half-months ago.