Bhopal: A special investigation team (SIT) said on Friday that Bhopal-based engineering student Nishank Rathore, 21, died by suicide due to indebtedness, and was not murdered as earlier suspected after he had sent a message about "insult to Prophet" to his father minutes before his death.
Nishank's body was found cut into two pieces on railway tracks in the Barkedhi-Midghat area of Madhya Pradesh's Raisen district on the July 24 evening.
His last message to his father had given rise to suspicion that the death was connected to the controversy caused by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma's remarks about Prophet Mohammad.
It was not a murder, said an SIT official here on Friday.
As per the SIT which was formed to probe the death, Nishank's last mobile phone message, written in Hindi, to his father read "there is one punishment for affront to the Prophet - head severed from the body."
The message sent the state government and police into a tizzy. He had posted similar message on his Instagram account too.
But the SIT official said on Friday that Nishank had taken loans from some people and also from at least 18 online instant loan apps, and was worried about repayment.
"It was a suicide. On June 23, a day before the suicide, he had borrowed ₹50,000 from his sister to pay his college fees, but did not actually pay the fees," the official said.
He might have written the message mentioning "affront to Prophet" to win the support of Hindu nationalists by portraying himself as a martyr or to get the government's help for his family, the official added.
"The line 'Nabi ki shan me gustakh maf nahi' had been doing rounds after the killing of a tailor in Udaipur for backing Nupur Sharma," he added.
"No one knows what was weighing on his mind. We are all only making guesses," the official said.
No one had picked up Nishank's phone - found near the body - after his death, probe officials found. The device was password-protected.
Nishank's family, meanwhile, has rejected the suicide theory, stating that there was "no reason" for him to have taken such a step.
"I am certain Nishank was murdered," his sister Deeksha told ThePrint. "He was just a jovial and cheerful 20-year-old engineering student trying to figure out life… I am certain he wouldn't take such an extreme step."
Nishank hailed from Seoni-Malwa in the Hoshangabad district and was studying at a private engineering college in Bhopal. The last message was sent from his mobile phone at 5.44 pm on July 24, minutes before he was hit by a speeding Grand Trunk Express at 6.02 pm.