delhi

Updated: Dec 04, 2018 14:13 IST

A 19-year-old student of National Fire Service College, Nagpur, allegedly committed suicide at the railway tracks near the New Delhi Railway station on Sunday, allegedly after one of his teachers demanded Rs 35,000 to give him pass marks in his exams.

Police said the student had sent a suicide note to his family on Saturday on WhatsApp, alleging the teacher demanded money after he had failed in two subjects of his first semester exams.

The college has ordered an inquiry to probe the incident. Delhi Police is also probing the matter.

According to the police, the student’s body was found on the railway tracks on Sunday afternoon by passersby, who informed the police, who are probing how he died.

Deputy commissioner of police (railways) Dinesh Kumar Gupta said some documents and a railway ticket from Nagpur to Delhi was found on him.

Gupta said police identified the student as Nalli Hemant Kumar from Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. His family members were informed about the incident.

“Initial enquiry revealed Hemant was a first-year student of National Fire Service College, Nagpur. In a suicide note he sent before leaving his college for Delhi, he said one of his teachers (name withheld), had asked him to pay Rs 35,000 to give him pass marks in seven semesters. Disturbed, he said he was going to commit suicide,” the DCP said.

Ram Babu, one of Hemant’s relatives who lives in Faridabad, said they could not contact him after receiving the note on WhatsApp.

“He sent the note to his father on WhatsApp. We tried contacting him but he had switched off his phone. We lodged a missing complaint at Mankapur police station in Nagpur. In his note, Hemant accused a professor for asking Rs 5,000 per semester. His father is a farmer, how he could have paid this amount?” Babu said.

Police have started inquest proceedings. National Fire Service College functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

GS Saini, the acting in-charge of the college, said deputy director Rajesh Chaudhary was probing the matter. “He is talking to friends, college mates, family members and teachers and will submit a report soon,” Saini said.

“The boy was missing from hostel from Friday. We lodged a missing complaint with the local Mankapur police station. On Sunday, we were informed Nalli had committed suicide and his body was found near Delhi,” Saini said.

(Inputs from Pradip Kumar Maitra, Nagpur)