Accused of body-shaming professor, Gujarat nursing student hangs himself; had issued written apology thrice

AHMEDABAD: A student's suicide, the emotional note he left behind and the alleged circumstances leading up to the incident have rocked Nadiad.

Jay Vijaykumar Patil, 21, a first-year nursing student of Dinsha Patel Nursing College in Nadiad, was found hanging at his residence in the town's Manjipura area on Monday.


In his suicide note addressed to his mother, Jay wrote he had never body-shamed any female professor as alleged and that he was being wrongly framed.

Jay had enrolled for the nursing course just three months ago, in Oct. In the note, now in police custody as part of the investigations, he expressed deep distress over being misunderstood and humiliated, writing that he was being blamed without proof and that he was not the kind who would not accept punishment for any mistake.

His father, Vijay Patil, has levelled serious allegations against the college administration, claiming that his son was deliberately isolated and placed under pressure. He told police that he was called to the college a few days before the incident and warned that his son's conduct was "under watch", and that authorities threatened to issue a leaving certificate if there was no "improvement"

"The teachers isolated my son. He was under extreme pressure for the last three days and had slipped into depression," Vijay said, demanding strict legal action against those responsible for pushing his son to take the extreme step.

College authorities denied any wrongdoing, saying there had been complaints about Jay and teachers intervened when "boundaries were crossed." Virendra Jain, principal of the nursing college, said the college management has constituted a high-level internal inquiry committee after the suicide and has recorded statements of all teaching staff, including those of three female professors who regularly handled the class.

The college claimed that had been complaints regarding Jay's discipline and that he submitted written apologies on three occasions for alleged misconduct.

"Two days before the incident, the college held a meeting with the student's mother. We tried to counsel the student and resolve the issue amicably," Jain said, adding, "When boundaries are crossed in student-teacher interactions, teachers intervene. Whether this amounted to corrective action or mental harassment will be determined by the inquiry committee."

Nadiad town police are investigating the case as an accidental death. Mobile phone records are being examined, and statements of family members and college staff are being recorded.