A PhD scholar from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) died under mysterious circumstances on Thursday after he boarded a train to his home town Dindigul in Tamil Nadu.

The Times of India reported that Sooria Prakash was a research scholar from UoH's Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP) and had recently submitted a thesis on manual scavenging.

"He was keeping unwell for the past two months after which his friends had suggested he go home. He had boarded the train to his home town on Wednesday. When fellow passengers tried to wake him up at the Dindigul station, they found him dead," a UoH student told the newspaper.

When TOI contacted the health centre in UoH, Dr Ravindra Kumar said - "The research scholar had last approached the health care centre on August 9 where he complaint about Piles. Apart from this, we are unaware of any medical complications that the scholar was facing."

Other reports also add that the Ambedkar Students Association held a condolence meeting on campus for Prakash on Thursday.

Many other students and study circles expressed their grief.

"He was a bright research scholar...was very concerned about issues like dignity and self-respect of labour class. His demise is a great and irreplaceable loss to the academic community of University of Hyderabad. We offer our deep condolences to his family," Mahatma Jyotirao Phule & Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Educational Circle said in a statement.