Kalyan/ Maharashtra: A 19-year-old college student in Kalyan Maharashtra died by suicide after being allegedly assaulted for speaking Hindi, instead of Marathi, on a local train, maktoobmedia.com reported.
The victim’s father, Jitendra Khaire raised the allegation in a statement given to the police.
Alongside registering an accidental death report (ADR), the Kolsewadi police recorded the statement of Jitendra Khaire who claimed four to five men assaulted his son during the altercation over language.
Arnav Khaire, a first-year BSc student, was commuting to college on a packed local train on November 18 when the incident took place.
Caught in the crowd on the train, Arnav reportedly asked others in Hindi not to push and press too much weight on him, which provoked a group of co-passengers.
An officer involved in the probe reportedly said the group shouted at him for not speaking in Marathi.
When Arnav retorted that he was Marathi too, they asked whether he was ashamed of speaking in Marathi.
The argument escalated into a physical assault, according to the father’s statement.
Visibly shaken, Arnav returned home and died by suicide that evening.
Police are checking his messages or chats to get more details on the sequence of events.
‘Based on the father’s allegation, we are coordinating with Kalyan railway police and reviewing CCTV footage to identify the individuals involved. We are verifying every aspect that may have contributed to this tragic step,’ a senior officer reportedly said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Atul Zende said that strict action would be taken if the student was attacked over language.