Ravenshaw University

Cuttack, Dec. 6: Mystery shrouds the death of a Ravenshaw University student, whose body was recovered from near Kathajodi railway bridge last night.

Jyotirmayi Kutruka, a Plus Three first-year economics student from Rayagada district, was staying at the varsity’s Devi hostel. Though it is still unclear whether the tribal girl committed suicide or has been murdered, Government Railway Police (GRP) today registered a case of unnatural death and an investigation has begun.

“We found the body near pillar no 9 and 10 last night. Besides, a train ticket and poison tablets were also recovered from her bag,” said GRP inspector in-charge Smruti Ranjan Kar.

Kar said the mobile phone of the deceased is missing, while efforts are on to access her call records. They expect to get some lead from the post-mortem report.

Her family members, on the other hand, suspect foul play.

“My daughter is a meritorious student. She could not have committed suicide as she was mentally strong. So, we suspect that she has been killed by some goons,” said her father Angad Kutruka, who works as bank manager in Jharsuguda.

Angad said he had got information about the incident at around 8pm yesterday and rushed to Cuttack.

“I had spoken to my daughter before her semester exams in philosophy and she sounded normal yesterday. Jyotirmayi had secured around 98 per cent marks in matriculation and as she wanted to study economics, she decided to go to Ravenshaw after completing her Plus Two from Ramadevi Women’s College in Bhubaneswar,” Angad said.

Police said Jyotirmayi had left the hostel at around 4pm on Thursday to go Cuttack railway station. However, she had informed her warden that she was going to the market nearby. Later, she boarded a passenger train to Bhubaneswar within an hour.

“At around 7.30 pm, we got information from the police about the incident,” said varsity registrar Padan Jena.

Ravenshaw authorities said now all girl students have been asked to return to their respective hostels by 7pm. Moreover, they have to submit a written application signed by their local guardian if they wish to go out on any emergency.