The Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA) has alleged institutional apathy by Delhi University and procedural lapses by the police following the death by suicide of the 19-year-old sister of its JNUSU presidential candidate, Raj Ratan Rajoriya.
The deceased, a Dalit student of Deshbandhu College, was found dead in her rented flat in Govindpuri on Saturday.
BAPSA claimed the case reflects the continuing neglect faced by marginalised students in Delhi University, both in terms of mental health support and systemic discrimination.
According to Rajoriya, the police handling of the case was deeply insensitive. He alleged that officers arrived at the scene without a doctor and refused requests to summon one, saying too much time had passed.
Instead, “They asked the deceased’s brother to check the vitals and subsequently declared the person dead verbally,” they alleged.
The body was handed over to the family on Sunday, after which they left for Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, to perform the last rites.
Raj Ratan Rajoriya, who was scheduled to deliver his presidential address that day, was unable to do so, following which JNU student organisations, the DUSU Election Committee, and other presidential candidates decided to postpone the debate in solidarity, allowing him to participate at a later time.
He further accused that no female officers were present among the two constables and two investigating officers, apart from one woman from the crime department who had only come to collect evidence.
Rajoriya also said there were not enough personnel to carry his sister’s body from the sixth-floor flat, which had a narrow staircase unsuitable for a stretcher. The body, he alleged, had to be carried on a blanket, increasing the risk of additional injuries.
They alleged that Delhi University provides hostel accommodation for only about 0.71% to 1% of its students, and that high fees, interview-based selections, and local guardian requirements make these hostels largely inaccessible to students from marginalised communities, forcing them to rent cramped and expensive rooftop or single-room accommodations.
The deceased, they said, lived in a congested sixth-floor barsaati (rooftop) flat with no lift or proper ventilation, an unsafe and isolating environment that reflects the precarious living conditions of Dalit students in Delhi.
“This questions the legality of such structures and the complicity of the authorities, and role of these spaces in creating the environment of isolation,” they said.
BAPSA said the incident highlights Delhi University’s ongoing “institutional apathy” towards marginalised students, especially those from Dalit and Bahujan backgrounds.
The organisation pointed out that DU has only one visiting psychiatrist, based in North Campus, and no clinical psychologists for its over seven lakh students and thousands of staff.
A police officer reportedly told the group that this was the sixth suicide case linked to Deshbandhu College in 2025, none of which have been officially recorded by the university. They said that Deshbandhu College, located in South Campus, offers no accessible mental health support, forcing students to cope with distress and pressure on their own.
The statement also alleged that systemic discrimination, both academic and social, continues to affect marginalised students, and that a lack of faculty sensitisation deepens their isolation on campus.
“Will Delhi University take accountability? How long will Dalit students have to die in universities due to institutional failure?” BAPSA asked.
The organisation urged Bahujan and progressive students to unite and demand accountability for what it called “the systemic neglect that continues to push marginalized students to the brink.”
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