Chennai police recovered an 11-page suicide note from the apartment of project assistant at IIT-Madras who was found dead at the hockey field on campus late on Thursday, 1 July.
As per the note, which was largely illegible, homesickness and depression had pushed the man in his mid-twenties to take his life, Times of India reported.
According to the report, the deceased, identified as Unnikrishnan Nair, had completed his master’s degree in his home town and moved into a three-bedroom apartment at Velachery, where the note was found.
A police officer said that his note, beginning with the word 'beware' talked about feeling lonely in the city, as it was the first time he had travelled since childhood, TOI reported.
Nair's note underline that the decision to take his life was his own and was not made under anyone else's influence, an officer reportedly said.
Background
A police statement on 2 July had noted that, “At 6.15 pm on 1 July, Dr Raju, a sports officer, came to the hockey field with his teammates and saw the body of an unidentified man lying on the field."
The body was found to be partially burnt, The Hindu reported.
Police inquiries revealed that Unnikrishnan was the youngest staff member in his department and had often spoken about feelings of isolation. He had reportedly video called his mother late on Thursday, and left for his office afterwards.
TOI reported that later that evening, he had doused his body with petrol and set it ablaze.
The Government Royapettah Hospital (GRH) conducted a postmortem on the body, and the Kotturpuram police handed over Unnikrishnan’s body to his family on Friday.
(If you are suicidal or know anyone in distress, reach out to the numbers of local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs here.)
(With inputs from TOI and The Hindu)
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