Political leaders from Tamil Nadu’s major parties condoled on Tuesday the death of Dalit JNU MPhil scholar Muthukrishanan Jeevanantham. Muthukrishanan (27), an alumnus of UoH and an MPhil student at the Centre for Historical Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University reportedly hanged himself at a friend’s house in Munirka Vihar on Monday.
TN Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami promised a solatium of Rs 3 lakhs to the MPhil scholar’s family. Palaniswami said in a statement, “All arrangements will be made by the Tamil Nadu government to bring back the body of Muthukrishanan, and a solatium of Rs 3 lakhs will be granted to Muthukrishanan’s family.”
AIADMK Deputy General Secretary TTV Dinakaran also expressed his condolences over the death of Muthukrishanan. Condemning the fact that such an incident had occurred in the capital, and in a university like JNU, Dinakaran said in a statement, that a proper investigation is required to unravel the truth. He also urged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Centre to pay special attention to this case.
He also said that it was difficult to believe that a student like Muthukrishanan who had been part of the political mobilisations in the University of Hyderabad campus following the death of Rohith Vemula, would now commit suicide himself. He said that the theory of Muthukrishanan killing himself was therefore suspect.
He added that he was pained and ashamed that universities which should nurture students in an inclusive manner are themselves indulging in discriminatory practices.
DMK working president MK Stalin demanded on Tuesday morning that a CBI inquiry be carried out into the death of Muthukrishanan, and also asked for a CBI investigation into the death of AIIMS doctor Saravanan.
Speaking to The News Minute, Muthukrishanan’s mother Alamelu and his sister Jayanthi had claimed that Muthukrishanan would never commit suicide, and had asked for a CBI investigation into the case.