HYDERABAD: A technical assistant consumed a toxic substance and committed suicide in the University of Hyderabad on Tuesday. Identified as Mallikarjuna Rao (27) from Rentachintala in Guntur district, he was found in an semi-conscious state in a corridor near a laboratory at the Department of Animal Sciences in the School of Life Sciences around 7.25 a.m. The nonteaching staff, who found him in the corridor, said he had told them that he consumed formaldehyde solution which causes death. “He was immediately taken to the university health centre from where he was shifted to the Apollo Hospitals where he was declared ‘brought dead’,” said Prof B Rajashekar, dean of students’ welfare at the university. The post-mortem was conducted at the Gandhi Hospital and the body was handed over to the bereaved family members, he added. Rao had been working in a project at the Department of Animal Sciences for a year and had one more year to complete his term. According to the dean of students’ welfare, Rao was not a permanent employee.He had a purely temporary job like hundreds of others working in the labs in different departments. Rao had completed M.Sc in biotechnology from the Banaras Hindu University three years ago and was hopeful of clearing the CSIR-JRF. However, despite repeated attempts, he failed to get the fellowship and according to the university officials, he was embarrassed about not being able to do his Phd. Rao was from a middle-class family and the eldest of three siblings.His family was dependent on him. N Venkateshwarlu, inspector, Chandanagar Police, confirmed that Rao had not left behind any suicide note. “He consumed formaldehyde solution early in the morning to end his life. We suspect that he did so due to some financial problems,” said the inspector. This is the second suicide case in the University of Hyderabad in a month. A girl student from the Department of Linguistics had committed suicide on April 23 this year by hanging herself in her hostel room. Another research scholar from the Department of Life Sciences too had committed suicide by consuming chemical drugs a few months ago.
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