A 19-year-old student allegedly died by suicide in Maharashtra’s Thane district after he was allegedly assaulted on a suburban train for not speaking in Marathi, PTI quoted the police as saying on Thursday.

Arnav Khaire, a student at Kelkar College in Mumbai’s Mulund, was found dead at his home in Kalyan on Tuesday evening, reported The Times of India.

Kalyanji Gete, the assistant commissioner of police, said that Arnav Khaire was travelling to his college on the suburban local train on Tuesday morning when the assault took place between Kalyan and Thane stations.

The student’s father, Jitendra Khaire, has alleged in his complaint to the police that his son died by suicide due to the mental stress caused by the assault.

Arnav Khaire had asked a passenger in Hindi to move ahead in a crowded train compartment, his father said. The father said that some persons nearby allegedly objected to his not speaking in Marathi and asked him if he was ashamed of the language.

Jitendra Khaire stated in his complaint that his son had told the group that he was Marathi, reported The Times of India.

However, the passenger, “along with his five companions, then brutally assaulted the student, raining punches on him”, Gete was quoted as saying by PTI.

“Overwhelmed by fear and nauseous from the beating, he alighted at Thane station and took the next train to Mulund,” the police officer added.

The officer said that the student returned home early without attending all the lectures and told his father about the assault on the phone.

“The father sensed fear and tension in his voice,” said Gete. “On returning home from work later that evening, he found the door closed. He broke down the door with the help of neighbours and found his son.”

The police said that a case of accidental death has been registered and an investigation is underway.

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