A 19-year-old college student from Kalyan died by suicide after allegedly facing severe mental distress. His father claimed the stress stemmed from an incident where the student was beaten by a group of people on a train during an argument over his use of Hindi instead of Marathi. The Kolsewadi police have filed an accidental death report (ADR) and recorded the statement of the victim’s father, Jitendra Khaire, who alleged that four to five individuals assaulted his son over the language dispute, a senior officer confirmed.
Police said the deceased, Arnav Khaire, was enrolled in the first year of a BSc program at a college in Mulund and lived in Kalyan with his parents and younger brother. The incident reportedly took place on November 18 while he was commuting to college by local train. Due to heavy crowding, Khaire allegedly spoke in Hindi, “Don’t push, you’re putting too much weight on me.” This triggered a confrontation with four to five men who, according to the complaint, berated him for not speaking Marathi. Khaire reportedly told them that he was Marathi too and still they thrashed him inside the train.
A police officer involved in the investigation said they are working with the Kalyan railway police and reviewing CCTV footage to identify those involved in the scuffle. “We will examine every detail that could have contributed to the victim’s extreme decision,” the officer added. According to the statement given by the father, the men grew more aggressive, allegedly taunting him with remarks like, “Are you ashamed to speak Marathi?” The verbal spat is believed to have escalated into a physical attack.
