A 19-year-old engineering student of Sathyabama University in Chennai committed suicide in his Hyderabad home ... Read More

HYDERABAD/CHENNAI: A 19-year-old engineering student of Sathyabama University in Chennai committed suicide in his Hyderabad home late on Thursday night, leaving behind a note in which he said some seniors ragged him severely and extorted money from him.

K Venkata Krishna Chaitanya, a second-year BTech student, hanged himself with a cord from the ceiling of his bedroom in Kukatpally, west Hyderabad.

The Hyderabad police said Chaitanya’s parents noticed that he was depressed after he returned home recently. He retired early for the night and his parents found the body the next morning.

Chaitanya left behind a note addressed to his parents, in which he said his seniors subjected him to intense ragging. He singled out a senior named Shekhar who he said harassed him physically and mentally and extorted money from him.

Shekhar, from Vijayawada, and his friends snatched his debit card and made purchases with it after forcing him to give them his PIN, Chaitanya wrote.

“On several occasions, Shekhar beat me black and blue and humiliated me in front of everyone... He used my ATM card and cash [to buy] diesel and [pay his] mobile bills whenever he wanted. Shekhar should not escape punishment,” the note said.

Chaitanya made 15,000 a month through part-time jobs, money that Shekhar would take away, he wrote.

The Hyderabad police said they would investigate the case thoroughly.

“We will coordinate with the Chennai police to probe the case,” Kukatpally Housing Board inspector Srikanth Goud said.

Sathyabama University officials said they would investigate Chaitanya’s charges after the students return. Officials closed the varsity till November 29 because of flooding.

“Chaitanya did not approach our anti-ragging cell or raise the issue with teachers,” an official said.

“Shekhar’s friends have claimed that Chaitanya borrowed money from Shekhar and did not return the loan,” he said. “They said Shekhar called Chaitanya’s family to demand that they return the money. We are yet to talk to Shekhar.”

Chaitanya, a computer science student, joined the varsity in 2014. He stayed in a campus hostel but moved to a paying guest accommodation outside three months into his first year with Shekhar, also known by the name Poornachandra Rao, a third-year electrical and telecom engineering student.

Tamil Nadu has since 2009 had more cases of ragging among southern states, with 172 complaints to the national anti-ragging helpline. Kerala (132) came in second and Karnataka was third (126).