Student from Manipur suffocates to death

CHENNAI: In a bizarre case of suicide triggered by love failure, a Manipur student wrapped his face in a polythene bag and suffocated to death in his hostel room at Kelambakkam in Kancheepuram district on Thursday.Investigating officer Chellaiah told Express that the victim, Okram Laaba (20), was a BCA student in an arts and science college at Padur. He was staying along with another student in Room no 111 on the first floor of the hostel located inside the college campus.Laaba had been suffering from depression since he returned from Manipur a week ago. His girlfriend had married another man and the youth was upset about it. He stayed confined to his room and had been refusing meals, the officer said.Concerned at his mental condition, Laaba’s friends tried to cheer him. “They were afraid that he will resort to any extreme step and arranged for a Sri Lankan student Ashwin to stay with him on Wednesday, as his room-mate was in another room for group study,” the police officer said.On Thursday morning, the two had breakfast and Ashwin left for his class. On returning around 3 pm, he found the door locked inside. When repeated knocking did not elicit any response, he tried to contact him through his cell phone in vain. Informing warden Balasubramaniam, the students broke open the door and were shocked by the sight on the bed.Laaba had wrapped his face with a plastic textile bag and tied the opening at the neck with a towel. He had used a leather belt to further tighten them. He was rushed to a private hospital, where doctors declared him as ‘brought dead’.The warden lodged a complaint with the Kelambakkam police, who sent the body to the Chengalpattu government hospital for post-mortem.