Youth turned away from IAS exam for being late, ends life

NEW DELHI: A 28-year-old UPSC aspirant allegedly committed suicide in his flat in central Delhi’s Rajendra Nagar on Sunday evening. The incident occurred hours after he was denied entry at the examination centre for reaching late.
DCP (central) Mandeep Singh Randhawa said the victim, Varun Subhash Chandran, was from Kumta village in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka. A suicide note was also found in his room in which he wrote that the exam centre rule was right but some relaxation should be given for the greater good of candidates. The letter has been sent to a forensic lab for analysis.

Preliminary investigation has found that Chandran’s exam centre was a government school in Paharganj. His exam was scheduled at 9.30am. As per the notification of the UPSC, entry closes 10 minutes before Civil Services Preliminary examination. Chandran went to another centre at Kaseruwalan area in Paharganj at 8.45am. But he realised that he was at the wrong centre. He then rushed to the correct centre but could reach only at 9.24am due to traffic. He was denied entry. He pleaded with the authorities but nothing worked. He then returned to his room dejected.

One of his friends, who had been preparing for the examination along with him, tried contacting Chandran in the evening. But couldn’t. He then went to his room and found the door locked from inside. He looked through the window and saw his body hanging from the ceiling fan.

Police were informed about the incident at 5.55pm. A team arrived, broke open the door, and took Chandran to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. The body was sent for autopsy where the doctors found ligature marks around the neck.

The body was handed over to the Chandran’s sister and brother-in-law who took it to his village for the last rites. Police officers said a forensic team was examining the room to see if there was any foul play. The staff put on exam duty outside the two examination centres are also being questioned. Chandran’s cellphone is also being scanned.