Unrequited love drives student to suicide at Churchgate hostel

A 22-year-old MSc student jumped to death from a South Mumbai hostel building in the wee hours on Monday. The deceased had been identified as Amrut Mane, and is a resident of Kalyan. Though no suicide has been found, a girl’s name, Hema, scribbled on the floor of his hostel room in blood, points to a love angle.

“There are two girls with that name Mane knew — one stays in
Kalyan, while the other is a classmate,” said senior inspector Zunjarrao Gharal from the Marine Drive police station. The police are now probing which of the two girls Mane has referred to, and what could have gone wrong between them that led him to commit suicide.

The suicide came to light when one of Mane’s hostel mates entered his room, which was not locked, at around 8am on Monday morning. “His friend saw blood on the floor, but Mane was missing. He then looked down from the balcony, and found Mane’s body lying on the ground below,” said Gharal. Mane first slit his left wrist and then jumped off from the balcony.

“Mane had returned to the hostel from Kalyan on Sunday. The deceased was supposed to stay at home for a week, but returned early due to the college practical schedules,” said Gharal.
Mane used to keep to himself in the hostel, and whenever his friends asked him about what was bothering him, he would refuse to share his problem. “When we spoke to his friends, they said they tried numerous times to learn the reason behind Mane’s aloofness, but he would always say that no one can solve his problem,” said Gharal. Mane has four sisters, and his father, Purshottam, worked with Mumbai Port Trust.