NEW DELHI: The body of a Jawaharlal Nehru University student missing for two days was found hanging from the ceiling fan in the basement of the library at School of Language Studies on Friday afternoon. The MA student, Rishi Joshua Thomas, had sent an
email to his
professor saying that he could be found in the basement.
The professor told the police that Thomas had written in the mail that by the time he read it, he would be gone.
“I want to experience the physical form of death,” he wrote in the mail sent at 11.31am. At the end, he requested the professor to take care of his parents.
Police are verifying the claims of his friends that he was in depression due to prolonged medication. His classmates claimed that he had stopped talking to everyone and would remain confined to his room and classes. Cops are questioning his cousin, Mathew Varghese, a research scholar at
JNU.
DCP (southwest) Devender Arya said police were informed around noon when the professor with the English language centre saw the mail. Hostel authorities said that students at Mahi-Mandvi hostel had been looking for Thomas for the past two days. They had presumed that he was out for studies since their examination was due.
During their probe, police found that the IP address from which the mail was sent was from a device in the library. They found a room in the basement locked from inside and no one responded to their knocking. They soon saw through a window Thomas’ body hanging from the ceiling fan. The guards and policemen broke down the door and rushed Thomas to a hospital where he was declared dead. The body has been taken to Safdarjung Hospital and Thomas’ relatives have been informed.
In a statement, JNU said, “We express deep condolences at the untimely demise of an MA student in one of the academic buildings of the university. His parents have been informed about the unfortunate incident.”
Speaking to TOI, a friend of Thomas said that he was visibly unwell and had become silent in the last few days. A few students at Mahi-Mandvi hostel said that he was a quiet person and would talk little.