The unnatural death of Devosmita Paul, an assistant professor at Delhi University’s Shivaji College, has sent shock waves across the varsity. On Thursday afternoon, Paul, 43, was found dead in her apartment in east Delhi’s Vasundhara Enclave, where she was living alone. As initial reports suggest that this could be a case of murder, the faculty member in the English department of the college.Devosmita Paul, 43, was found dead in her apartment at East Delhi. (Photo: X)The college principal Virender Bhardwaj shares, “We are all left in shock, especially with what the incident reports are suggesting. She had joined Shivaji College two and a half years back in the English department. Yesterday, someone from the college had called her for some generic reason, but her phone was not reachable. Then at around 4pm, one of her ex-colleagues from Maharaja Agrasen College, where she formerly taught, reached out and broke the news to us... Never in our college had I ever seen her being confrontational with any staff, teacher, or students. She was a very sensitive and positive person and always mingled well with the students. She also had an extra interest in literary activities. The faculty, along with the students, are now planning to paying her a tribute in the college.”Students echo similar sentiments of never having noticed any signs of distress in their conversations with her, which is making it all the more difficult to comprehend what happened. Grappling with the tragic news, Akshara Verma, a final year BA (Hons) English student, says, “I have studied in her class for numerous of my courses. Ma’am was a very reserved individual, but never appeared stressed. Since the news has come in, I’ve been thinking about her and what would have happened. It breaks my heart. In April, I had taken a picture with her in the college and that will now be a very precious memory for me.”Expressing grief and shock is also Anshaj Madaan, a BCom (Hons) student from the recently graduated batch. He says, “I had worked alongside her for multiple seminars in the college, and must say that every interaction with her was a moment of true learning. She was a soft spoken person, and I never even saw her scolding anyone. All I can say is that it’s a sad day for Shivaji College family and we are grieving.”For more, follow HT City Delhi Junction