The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association on Monday appealed to Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, seeking immediate intervention and a time-bound judicial inquiry into the “alleged harassment-driven suicide of Shweta Singh — a final-year BDS student from Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir — at Pacific Dental College and Research Centre, Udaipur”.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, the Association’s National Convenor, Nasir Khuehami, expressed deep anguish, calling it a horrifying case of institutional failure, mental harassment, and academic exploitation that tragically pushed Shweta to take her own life on the night of July 24, 2025.
The Association said Shweta endured two years of sustained mental harassment and pressure from faculty members Naini Jain (known as Mahi Ma’am) and Bhagwat Singh (Bhagwat Sir), whom she directly named in her handwritten suicide note. The note — widely shared on social media after being discovered by fellow students — alleged that students who didn’t pay bribes were deliberately failed, denied exams, and mentally tortured.
Khuehami said that Shweta’s exams had been withheld for over a year and a half, and her degree was blocked. She was pushed into a junior batch — an apparent attempt to demoralize her and extract money. In her final note, she wrote: “They kept sucking the blood of those who didn’t pay. I no longer have the strength to endure this… Bhagwat should be in permanent jail… I just wanted to be free.”
The Association also flagged gross negligence after her death. Despite her roommate alerting authorities at around 11 p.m., no college official, warden, or medical personnel responded. Students were forced to carry her body down six floors themselves. Her room remained unsecured for hours, potentially compromising key evidence.
The FIR, according to Khuehami, was filed only three days later — after student protests and her parents’ arrival. Shockingly, the FIR allegedly omitted the full names and designations of the accused, which the Association believes was a deliberate attempt to weaken the case. Students who spoke to police or media were reportedly threatened by college authorities, warned of withheld degrees, and their parents were allegedly contacted to silence them.
The Association expressed anger that no arrests have been made, despite a detailed suicide note and serious allegations of abetment to suicide — a cognizable, non-bailable offence. The college’s expulsion of the two faculty members was dismissed by the Association as mere “cosmetic damage control.”
Calling Shweta’s case symptomatic of systemic issues in private dental colleges, the Association said such institutions often trap students in cycles of exploitation, especially those unwilling to pay bribes. It noted that many students from Jammu and Kashmir studying in Rajasthan now fear speaking out, afraid they too could face similar abuse.
Khuehami urged CM Bhajan Lal Sharma to order the immediate arrest of the accused, ensure a judicial probe led by a retired High Court judge, and provide protection to student witnesses. He also called for legal action against college officials who delayed the FIR, tampered with evidence, and intimidated students — and recommended setting up a regulatory mechanism to prevent similar exploitation in the future.(KINS)
