Discharged cadet found hanging in Air Force Technical College

A 27-year-old cadet trainee was found hanging on the campus of the Air Force Technical College in North Bengaluru on Wednesday. His family has alleged that it was murder.

Police have booked six officials from the college for murder and opened an investigation.

A senior police officer said that while it appeared to be a suicide, all angles would be explored in the investigation as the family had alleged murder. "We will be guided by the autopsy report," the officer added.

Ankit Kumar Jha, a native of Bihar, was found hanging in an unoccupied room on the college campus located on Subroto Mukherjee Road in Jalahalli West around 5 pm. He was last seen on the campus three hours earlier. Police found a purported death note containing seven pages that blamed some college officials.

Ankit's cousin Richa Thakur told the police that the family wasn't immediately informed about his death. College authorities also didn't wait for his brother's arrival in Bengaluru before shifting the body. College officials neither informed the family about the purported death note nor return his phone.

'College officials lied to us'

"We went to the police station and completed the formalities of filing a complaint by 3 am. The death note was given to the police only after that. College officials lied to us that they had already handed over his phone to the police. But the police didn't have it until we filed the complaint," Richa said.

Even before the death note surfaced, the family's police complaint named six people — all those mentioned in the letter. "We knew these names because Ankit had often talked about these people and how they were harassing him," Richa said.

The death note talks about the torture Ankit allegedly experienced and how he was forced to sign the documents. He was terminated and was under severe mental stress, Richa said.

She further said that her phone calls to Ankit's number remained unanswered and it was only after reaching the college that she learnt about his death.

Police said Ankit was discharged from the college following a court of inquiry and was asked to leave the campus. His ticket was also booked. But he was found hanging after that.

Ankit's parents reached Bengaluru on Thursday evening. The post-mortem is scheduled for Friday.