UoH student kills self, ABVP activists allegedly assaulted him before death

The Gachibowli police shifted the student's body to Osmania General Hospital for post-mortem examination.

Hyderabad: A first-year MA student at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) died by suicide on Monday, May 18, with fellow students alleging that he was physically assaulted and publicly humiliated by activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) hours before his death, an allegation the university is yet to formally address.

Mayukh Kundu, a student of Financial Economics from West Bengal, was found dead in the campus Buffalo Lake on Tuesday morning, May 19, a day after he went missing. A suicide note recovered from his hostel room led authorities to the lake.

The sequence of events began when Mayukh was found to have stolen a laptop belonging to an intern at F-Hostel. He admitted to the theft and returned his own laptop as compensation. However, days later, four more laptops went missing – two from a reading room near the library and two from the hostel. When the victims confronted Mayukh, he denied involvement in these thefts.

The situation turned volatile on Sunday night, May 17, when ABVP activists became involved. Multiple students told Siasat.com that the activists led a public confrontation. At least one student, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged that Mayukh was beaten by ABVP members after the chief warden had dispersed the crowd at around 2:30 am.

When Mayukh did not appear on campus Monday morning, his roommate alerted his parents. His suicide note, addressed to his mother, expressed remorse and mentioned his struggles, including taking loans to fund a drug habit. He also apologised for “taking the easy way out” and urged her to stay strong.

Students have since alleged that university authorities and others are deflecting from the alleged assault by focusing on Mayukh’s drug use. “They basically humiliated him publicly — after that, he probably felt he couldn’t live with dignity on campus,” a student leader told Siasat.com.

The body was shifted to Osmania General Hospital for postmortem. A case has been registered at Gachibowli Police Station and an investigation is underway. An all-party student meeting was scheduled for Tuesday night, where a joint statement was expected to be issued.

UoH authorities had not issued a formal response at the time of filing this report.