Student organization BAPSA blames 'institutional pressure' and discrimination; deceased was the sister of a JNUSU candidate, raising serious questions about mental health facilities
New Delhi: A Delhi University (DU) student committed suicide on November 1. The student organization Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA) alleged that institutional pressure forced the student to take this extreme step.
According to a report in Maktoob Media, the 19-year-old student was a Dalit student of Deshbandhu College and was found dead in her flat in Govindpuri. She was the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) presidential candidate Raj Ratan Rajoria, who represented BAPSA in the JNUSU elections.
BAPSA said that this suicide reflects the continued neglect of mental health support for marginalized students at Delhi University and the systemic discrimination they face. Maktoob Media quoted Rajoria as saying, “The police’s handling of this case was extremely insensitive. The officers arrived at the scene without a doctor and rejected requests to call one, saying it was too late.”
The student organization also alleged that the police asked Rajoria to check her sister’s vitals and verbally declared her dead. The student’s body was handed over to the family on November 2, after which the family left for Madhya Pradesh.
Rajoria was scheduled to deliver the presidential address on November 2, but was unable to do so due to this incident. Given this sensitive situation, JNU student organizations, the DUSU Election Committee, and other presidential candidates, in solidarity, decided to postpone the debate so that Rajoria could participate later.
Rajoria expressed concern over the absence of a single female officer during the initial investigation following her sister’s suicide. BAPSA stated that Delhi University provides hostel facilities to only 1 percent of its students.
The organization said that high hostel fees, interview-based selection, and requirements such as a ‘local guardian’ make these hostels largely inaccessible to students from marginalized communities. This forces students to rent cramped and expensive, roofed or single-room accommodation.
According to the association, the deceased lived in a poorly maintained flat that lacked proper ventilation and a safe environment. APSA said the incident highlights Delhi University’s ongoing “institutional apathy” towards marginalized students, especially those from Dalit and Bahujan backgrounds.
The association also stressed that DU has only one visiting psychiatrist on North Campus for its over 700,000 students and thousands of staff, and no clinical psychologists.
Rajan Chaudhary
Courtesy: Hindi News