Between accident and his death,a fight that makes parents wonder

Richard,19,had lost his phone in an accident where he had fallen off a bike.

The last time Dr Vidyabati Debi of Imphal spoke to her son Loitam Richard,studying architecture near Bangalore,he asked her for money to buy a new cellphone. Richard,19,had lost his phone in an accident where he had fallen off a bike.

Richard,who was in the first year at Acharya NRV College of Architecture,spoke to his mother on the morning on April 17. The next day,he was found dead in his hostel,his bed soaked with blood from the nose and mouth,his eyes swollen shut,his arms bruised.

After the call,Richard had got into a quarrel during which he was assaulted. What caused his death is still inconclusive,but his parents are convinced that the accident was not it. The Karnataka police have so far registered a case of death caused by unknown reasons.

The accident took place on April 15. In an FIR filed with the Madamayakamahalli police,hostel warden Sudhakar said he came to know of it on April 16 and Richard was treated at Sapthagiri hospital. The quarrel took place on April 17,around 8 pm,apparently over which channel to watch. It was initially between Richard and a friend,Vishal; later Syed Afzal Ali,first year MBA,allegedly assaulted Richard.

When I spoke to my son that morning, says Dr Vidyabati Debi,he told me about the accident and said he had a couple of scratches on his arm. He was given first aid for his injuries. If the attending doctor had felt there was anything remotely wrong,he would at least have got an X-ray done; its normal medical procedure.

Richards mother is an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal. His father,Dr L Rajesh Kumar Singh,is a dental surgeon.

Richard told me he wanted to move out of the hostel and live in a PG. He didnt tell me why, his mother says. As I was leaving for work,I told him Id discuss it with his father and wed take a decision. I told Richard he must call me after getting his new phone.

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Richard didnt call. The next day,the doctor at the Acharya college called and said,There is some trouble,your son is no more,he has expired,you must come down immediately, Vidyabati says.

The parents left for Bangalore early the next morning. They were taken to the police station where they met the warden,the doctor and some students who had seen the fight. The students told us that Richard and Vishal had got into a fight but it was just a scuffle, says Richards father. Then,he adds,this older boy Afzal,who was friendly with Vishal,interfered and started beating up my son. His friends said that since Afzal was a senior,Richard did not retaliate and instead kept saying,Bhaiya mat maro. According to these eyewitnesses,Richards head was banged against the door and also against an iron grill,which we believe may have caused the internal bleeding.

The preliminary postmortem found haemorrhaging at places over both cerebral hemispheres. This means both sides of his head had been badly wounded,which is not possible in an accident, says Vidyabati. The students accounts as well as the FIR names only Afzal Ali; we believe others must have joined in. The students told us he had started bleeding from the mouth and the boys wiped the blood and put him into bed.

The wardens statement says Richard went to his room at 10.30 pm. Then around 11.30 pm,he went out to drink water8230; After that he started watching a film on his laptop and he said he wouldnt be attending college for a week as per the doctors instructions, says the FIR. The FIR does not mention a fight.

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The day after the fight,Richards roommate Saurabh tried waking him at 1.30 pm but got no response. The warden claims that he then went into Richards room and found him bleeding from the nose and mouth. The warden called the college doctor who declared Richard dead. A picture of the body with the parents shows a pillow soaked in blood,and Richards face swollen.