Bhagalpur: A 24-year-old student, identified as Pallavi Kumari, was found dead in a suspected case of suicide in a girls’ hostel located on SM College Road in the Khanjarpur area of Bhagalpur. Her body was discovered hanging from a noose in a friend’s room on Sunday.
According to police reports, Pallavi, a resident of Rajaun, had completed a paramedical course and was staying at her sister’s residence while preparing for competitive examinations. She occasionally visited a local girls’ hostel to meet her friends. On Saturday evening, she had come to the hostel to meet three of her friends. Subsequently, her friends left for tuition, leaving Pallavi alone in the room.
The tragic discovery was made by one of her friends upon returning from tuition. She immediately alerted the authorities.
Preliminary investigations suggest a possible love affair as the motive behind the alleged suicide. Police have detained Aditya Kumar, a resident of Patna, whom Pallavi had befriended through Facebook. Sources indicate that Aditya had moved to Bhagalpur after their online friendship deepened, and Pallavi reportedly had a lengthy phone conversation with him shortly before the incident.
“The boyfriend has been taken into custody for questioning. The boy had made the last call on the girl’s mobile. The case is being investigated on the basis of call details. Further action will be taken after the postmortem report comes,” stated Barari police station in-charge Bittu Kumar Kamal.
Pallavi’s cousin, Ajit Kumar, echoed the suspicion of a love affair, stating, “It is a case of love affair. She used to study while living in Bhagalpur. The boy is from Patna. The police have caught him. Both of them used to talk. Nothing more is known.”
The victim’s elder sister, Ranju Devi, expressed the family’s shock and grief. “She used to study while living at my house. My sister wanted to become a medical officer. But this incident has shocked us. The whole family is in shock. She never told what problem she had. Everything was normal,” she said.
Police are awaiting the postmortem report to ascertain the exact cause of death and are thoroughly investigating the call details of Pallavi’s mobile phone to shed further light on the circumstances leading to this tragic incident.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050, Tele Manas – 14416 (available 24×7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline – 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)
