Gurgaon nursing student found hanging in hostel; kin allege she faced caste discrimination, was killed

Police said the woman, Ritu, a resident of Palwal’s Akbarpur Natol, studied at the Haryana government-affiliated ANM Training Centre in Sector 31.

By: Express News Service
Gurgaon | May 5, 2024 05:29 IST

A 20-year-old nursing student was found hanging in her hostel room in Gurgaon Friday morning, said police, adding that it appears to be a suicide though a note has not been found yet. Her family, however, alleged she was murdered and claimed that she had faced “caste discrimination” at the hands of fellow students.

Police said the woman, Ritu, a resident of Palwal’s Akbarpur Natol, studied at the Haryana government-affiliated ANM Training Centre in Sector 31. According to police, her parents alleged that she told them she was being taunted by her fellow students in the hostel over her caste as she belonged to the Scheduled Caste. Her parents filed a complaint, demanding an FIR be registered against the warden and students under IPC sections including murder. Police, however, maintained there was no foul play and an FIR has not yet been registered.

“Prima facie, it is a suicide; the post-mortem report corroborates this. Her parents alleged she was discriminated against on the basis of her caste. We questioned the warden and students, but didn’t find anything suspicious,” said Manoj Kumar, SHO of Sector 40 police station, adding that they have seized the warden’s phone as part of the probe. The warden was not available for comment.
Meanwhile, Ritu’s family and members of social welfare organisation Bhim Sena held a protest and demanded justice for her.

Ritu’s father Subhash Chand told The Indian Express she had come to them five months ago after the students allegedly commented on her caste. “She was sad… We visited her hostel and I talked to a few students and told them though they were from different castes, they should not fight over these things. When she called Thursday after dinner, she seemed fine… On being informed of her death, I spoke to her friends who told us she was with them till 11 pm that day. How can she be dead hours later?” he asked.

Chand, a labourer, said he had got a phone call from hostel authorities on Friday, who told him that Ritu was unwell. On reaching, he found her body. “They said she was found hanging… I was told the body was brought down… by the students and warden. This is murder,” he alleged in the complaint.