Kalyan teen dies by suicide, father alleges train assault over language dispute

According to police, the deceased, Arnav Khaire, was a first-year BSc student at a prominent college in Mulund. He lived in Kalyan with his parents and younger brother. The alleged incident occurred on November 18, when Khaire was travelling to college on a local train. Due to the crowd, “Khaire spoke in Hindi saying ‘do not push as you people are putting a lot of weight on me’.” A group of four to five men who were allegedly travelling together started shouting at him for not speaking Marathi. Khaire responded that he was also Marathi.

“The people then got more angry and started saying ‘Are you feeling ashamed to speak in Marathi’,” said a police officer part of the probe. The argument allegedly escalated into a physical assault.

Khaire returned home visibly upset and later that evening died by suicide, police said. Officers have seized his phone to check for messages or chats that could help establish the sequence of events. “The verification is going on and once we get clarity and find if people actually thrashed him over the language, action will be taken,” the officer said.

The ADR has been registered, and police have begun an investigation. “This is the father’s allegation in his statement, but as of now we cannot confirm anything unless things are verified,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Atul Zende.

From the homepage

US clears Excalibur artillery shells, Javelin anti-tank systems for India

SC clarifies Governor’s powers: How it answered 14 questions referred by President

90% of selected students Muslim, Sangh outfits want admission for Vaishnodevi medical college scrapped