College student ‘commits suicide’ for a mobile phone

A college student named Md. Sifat Ahmed (18) has been found hanging at his residence in Jhilpar area of capital’s Khilgaon.

He was a first-year student in the Commerce Department of Khilgaon Model College.

According to sources, he was found hanging around 7:00 pm on Friday (14 November) in a room on the eighth floor of house number 1460/A. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College (DMCH) Hospital around 9:30 pm in an unconscious condition, where the emergency department doctors on duty declared him dead.

The deceased, Sifat, was the son of Md. Jahangir.

The victim's cousin, Md. Osman, said Sifat was the eldest of three brothers and one sister. Yesterday evening, his younger sister, Wafa, was using a mobile phone for an online math lesson. At that time, Sifat insisted that he needed the phone immediately to use Facebook. This led to an argument between the siblings.

Their mother intervened and scolded Sifat, telling him, "Your sister is learning math online right now; you can take the phone later."

Following this, Sifat went into his room, locked the door, and hanged himself from the ceiling fan using a scarf (orna).

Neighbours in the adjacent apartment informed them of the situation. They immediately broke down the door to Sifat's room, rescued him in an unconscious state, and first took him to a local hospital. From there, he was transferred to Dhaka Medical College for better treatment, where the doctor informed them that Sifat was no longer alive.

Inspector MD Faruk, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital police camp, said the matter was informed the Khilgaon Thana.