Representative image showing a dead body.
Credit: iStock Photo
MUMBAI, DHNS: Days after a Kalyan youth died by suicide, which seems to be a fallout of the Hindi-Marathi language issue, strong political reactions emerged in Maharashtra with the BJP hitting out at Thackeray cousins — the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav and Raj, the MNS founder-president.
Arnav Laxman Khaire (19), a resident of Kalyan East in Thane district, was a first-year science student of Vaze & Kelkar College in Mumbai. He took his life at his apartment on Tuesday evening, reportedly because of mental stress caused by a brutal beating from a gang in a running local train for reportedly not speaking Marathi.
Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam said that a Marathi youth has lost his life because of politics.
“Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray are spreading poison in the public. Language is a medium of communication, not struggle. A Marathi person lost his life. No one will forgive Uddhav and Raj this… people of Mumbai will teach them a lesson,” said Satam, an MLA from Mumbai.
Describing the incident as unfortunate, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar said, “Any youth’s loss of life in such circumstances is a matter of shame for the state as well as for the whole country. Those who forced him to take such a drastic step should be held, and strict action should be taken."
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party state chief and MLA Abu Asim Azmi termed it a sad incident and
said the government should make a law to deal specifically against such crimes over language. “It is a sad incident,” he said.