‘Muthukrishnan Had No Mental Health Issues’: Family Demands Probe
A day after 27-year-old Muthukrishnan aka Rajini Krish was found hanging at his friend's home in Munirka Vihar in the capital, his family has demanded a probe into his death. Dismissing claims that have erupted over his mental health, the Dalit student's sisters in Salem said that he was a bright student who was focused on his goals.
Muthukrishnan was pursuing his MPhil at the Centre for Historical Studies in JNU. He is also an alumnus of the University of Hyderabad, and according to his Facebook posts and blog, a keen supporter of the ideals that Rohith Vemula stood for.
By his own admission, he had written the entrance exam for JNU four times before he was admitted as a student. The son of Alamelu and Jeevanantham from Salem, he recalled on social media how he and his sisters would do all sorts of menial tasks through their childhood and adolescence.
His sister Kalaivani says that there is definitely some ‘mystery’ in his death. “He was a meritorious student. He won medals in BA and MA. We had no money issues. I spoke to him the day before, he spoke to mom also and said he will come back. He never told us anything about any torture or problems there. There is definitely mystery in his death. How come no one woke him up between 2 pm and 4 pm. How did they allow him to lock the door and sleep?” asks Kalaivani.
Jayanthi, his sister, says her brother was determined to get his doctorate and had mentioned no problems when he spoke to their mother the night before he died. In fact, the MPhil student had even promised to visit his family the next week, according to the family.
“He was doing his PhD in JNU. He said it was a big deal to get admission in Delhi. He told us he will only return after he gets his doctorate after studying in Hyderabad and Delhi. He wanted to be a lecturer, he had the conviction. That’s why we sent him. We never imagined he would return like this,” said his sister Jayanthi, breaking down.“He spoke to my mother also just the previous day. He said that he will come here next week,” she said.
“They say that he died in the afternoon itself, but we were told only in the evening. We don’t know what to do now. There has to be an investigation to find out what happened,” she says, even as people in the background prompt her to say that there is ‘mystery’ in the death. “He had no mental health issue. He was a bright student, and focused on his goals,” she said, when reporters asked her about Delhi police stating that he was depressed.
This story was originally published in The News Minute.
