Shailendra Jha

Mystery shrouds the death of a reader of the chemistry department of Jadavpur University, Shailendra Jha, who was found dead in his room on the campus of Freie Universität (University) in Berlin a week ago.

Jha, 49, was in Berlin with three colleagues on research work, part of an exchange programme of JU with the European Union.

“He was found dead in his room on September 24. There were no external marks of injury,” Mridul Bose, a professor of physics who is part of the JU team in Berlin, told Metro.

“The German police have not been able to ascertain the cause of death, and so they have not released the body yet,” he added.

Apart from Bose, the JU team comprised Piyali Palit, a professor of philosophy, and Sourav Bol, a research scholar of the physics department.

Sources at Jadavpur University said late on Thursday that the authorities at Freie had sent word that the forensic investigation was over and foul play had been ruled out. “The body should reach Calcutta by Saturday,” an official said.

Jha, a bachelor, is survived by his mother Shakuntala Devi, with whom he lived in Mandir Apartments of Narendrapur. “We have not told her about the tragedy. She knows that he went abroad in August and is scheduled to come back later this month,” said nephew S.K. Thakur.

Jha was last seen on September 22, when he had dined with Bol. According to Bose, Jha had retired to his room and remained indoors the next day.

“I was in Paris visiting my son, but Piyali Palit and Sourav Bol were in the same guesthouse. They had repeatedly called his mobile on September 23 but there was no response,” said Bose.

On the morning of September 24, when knocks on Jha’s door went unanswered, the caretaker of the university guesthouse called the cops, who broke open the door and found Jha lying dead on the bed.

P.N. Ghosh, the vice-chancellor of JU, said: “Shailendra Jha was popular with the students and an asset to the university.”

Jha had studied and then taught at the RK Mission College in Narendrapur, where sources described him as “a popular teacher, a keen debater and a man of varied interests”. He had also taught at Taki Government and Presidency colleges.