Intermediate student dies by suicide in Hyderabad, family alleges occult practices

HYDERABAD: A first-year Intermediate student died by suicide by hanging herself at her residence in Bharath Nagar under Kulsumpura police station limits here on Wednesday night. The family members of the deceased, 17-year-old Navya, are claiming that the girl was a victim of occult practices (kshudra puja) performed by unknown persons. The suspicions were however quickly dismissed by the police who attributed the suicide to mental stress that drove Navya to the extreme step.

Navya’s sister Sanjana said that her sister was a very active person in their family. She got disturbed after witnessing the paraphernalia including a lemon and small toys used for the occult worship and left in front of their house a few days ago. Since then, she became scared and delusional about everything and used to be unnerved even by shadows and fluttering fabrics after nightfall.

On Wednesday morning, Navya once again noticed the materials used for occult worship lying before her house. She herself cleaned those materials and burnt them and remained active throughout the day by spending time with her family members, according to her sister.

‘’All of a sudden in the evening, Navya became dull. I noticed it and scolded her. Later, she became normal and asked me to cook food for her. After a few minutes, Navya was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her room which was noticed by my father and mother. We are obviously suspecting that occult practices were the reason why my sister took the extreme step’’, Sanjana said.

Speaking to NewsTAP, Kulsumpura Inspector T Ashok Kumar stated categorically that there was no truth in the suspicions of occult practices. He said that the incident happened between 7:30 pm and 8 pm. Upon receiving the information about the incident, a team of police personnel reached the spot.

‘’We are investigating the case from all possible angles to ascertain the actual facts. A case has been registered under CrPC Section 174 (Police to inquire and report on suicide) and further investigation is underway’’, the station house officer said.