Father of Kota student who killed self suspects foul play, demands fair probe
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Kota (Rajasthan), Mar 9: A day after a 16-year-old student allegedly killed himself here after leaving a note that he won't be able to crack JEE, his father on Saturday claimed he suspected foul play in his son's death sought an impartial probe.
"Papa Mere se JEE Nahi Ho Payega, Sorry, I quit. (Papa I will not be able to crack JEE. Sorry, I quit)" were the last words of Abhishek Mandal who died on Thursday night by allegedly consuming poison in his paying guest accommodation here.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday outside the mortuary where his son's body was kept, the teenager's father Pradeep Mandal said he was handed over the body the day Abhishek was to leave for his home at Bhagalpur in Bihar by train.
According to Circle Officer DSP Dharmveer Singh, the body of Abhishek was found on Friday morning but he died late Thursday night.
Kota City Police handed over Abhishek's body to his family on Saturday noon after postmortem, said Vigyan Nagar Police Station SHO Satish Chand Choudhary.
A case has been lodged under Section 174 (inquiry and report on suicide) of the Criminal Procedure Code to investigate the matter, the SHO said.
ALSO READ: I quit, can't crack JEE: 16-year-old aspirant tells father before killing self in Kota
After reaching the mortuary, the teenager's father fainted on seeing his son's body and regained consciousness after a while.
Pradeep told reporters that he could not believe his son had died by suicide. He added that Abhishek was in Kota for over a year and was a good student.
The teenager's father said he found his son's death suspicious as his mobile phone was formatted and did not have a SIM card.
He demanded and impartial probe into the case.
Narrating the incident, Pradeep said he last spoke to his son on Thursday when Abhishek said he would come home on Saturday.
He also told his brother that he would return home on Saturday and the tickets were booked, added Pradeep, panchayat head of Murli in Bhagalpur.
The father remembered his deceased son as a "jolly" boy and said there was never any family tension with him.
"Whenever we asked him how he was, he said he was good," Pradeep said.
He added that Abhishek was the fourth child among his five children.
On the claim of the deceased's father about his son's formatted phone, the SHO said the device was yet to be examined.
It is suspected Mandal died after consuming Celphos, a poisonous substance. A vial of the drug was recovered from his room by the police team, Circle Officer Singh had said on Friday.
According to the records from the coaching institute Mandal had been studying in for a year, he was supposed to take the JEE Session-1 exam on January 29 but he did not appear for it, the DSP had said.
This is the fifth case of suicide by a coaching student in Kota since January. The number of student suicides in Kota stood at 26 in 2023.
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Representative of Iran's Supreme Leader in India calls current situation 'no war, no peace'
Bengaluru (PTI): Representative of Iran's Supreme Leader in India, Abdul Majeed Hakeem Ilahi on Saturday characterised the ongoing tensions between his country and the Israel-US alliance as a state of “no war, no peace”.
Calling for an immediate halt to the conflict, he said the global stability hinges on those who initiated the war.
He questioned why countries affected by the war and suffering from the energy crisis are not pressuring the US and Israel to stop the aggression.
Addressing a press conference here, Ilahi said Iran did not want the conflict, but was compelled to respond amid continued attacks, even as negotiations were expected to continue.
"Iran didn't want this war, but Iran was forced by the war and several times Iran tried to avoid this war... I don't know what is the condition of these people and these countries (US-Israel)... they want to impose on other countries what they want, and who gave them this authority?" he questioned.
Recalling the negotiations Iran held in Oman, he said talks later moved to Geneva and made progress before being disrupted by sudden attacks.
Ilahi claimed that airstrikes and missile attacks led to the deaths of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ministers, commanders and civilians.
"They killed a lot of civilians… They attacked a primary school, and they killed 175 innocent girls," he said, claiming over 4,000 deaths, more than 40,000 injuries, and widespread damage to houses, hospitals, universities and public infrastructure.
Despite these losses, he said Iran resisted calls for “unconditional surrender” and stood firm and defended itself.
"They wanted unconditional surrender. Which no one—no one can accept it. Iran said, 'Okay, we are ready to be sacrificed,' but we are not ready to submit ourselves," he added.
He argued that they (US-Israel) proposed the current ceasefire only after realising that they could not achieve any of their objectives after 40 days of conflict.
The envoy further claimed that the ceasefire is not an actual ceasefire, but a “no war, no peace” situation.
Explaining the current situation in Iran, he said conditions remain stable and people are going about their daily lives.
"They are working ....(leading) their ordinary life. They are working—they're going farming and they do everything....and they aren't scared of anything. And they are ready to defend themselves," he added.
Addressing the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, he said the situation was stable before February 28 and all countries benefited from it.
"(For) 10,000 years, the Strait of Hormuz was open...and Iran daily yearly spent a lot for providing security in the Strait of Hormuz... so no one even complained anything about the Strait of Hormuz. Everyone was free...and even our enemies their warship was passing through the Strait of Hormuz," he said.
However, he linked the current maritime instability to the actions of the US and Israel.
"So Iran cannot do anything. Those people who initiated, created and started this war, they have to stop it. And everything will go back to normal," he said.
Criticising the mentality of the "great powerful country", Ilahi said, "they think they have the right to do whatever they want. It should change."
He sought to know why the countries affected by the conflict are not exerting pressure on the US and the "Zionist" regime to halt the war.
"Why are they not asking them? This crisis and problem by which a lot of countries are affected was created by them. A lot of factories are closed and even working days in some countries reduced... A lot of restaurants are closed," he said.
Seeking fairness and justice, Ilahi said instead of asking Iran, all those nations should ask those who initiated this war to stop it, by telling them, "we are suffering."
To a query on international mediation, Ilahi, referring to the US, asked, "Is it acceptable and reasonable that one country orders all countries -- you should not deal with this country, You should not purchase from this country. You should not have business with this country. You should not buy from this country."
Ilahi also highlighted Iran's long-standing ties with India and said, "It is a great country and we respect India and Indians."
"We have 5,000 years relationship and friendship. We are connected to India by education, by philosophy, by culture, by civilisation and by the economy," he said.
According to him, the bilateral cooperation remains strong, citing diplomatic engagement.
"At the moment also, our relationship, collaboration, cooperation with India is very good," he said, adding Iran allowing Indian ships to pass through Strait of Hormuz reflects the ties.
"Iran allowed Indian ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Why? A lot of countries couldn't get this permission?... The relationship between Iran and India is very good," he added.
He expressed confidence that in future too, the ties between Iran and India will be strong.
