Days after being sacked, DU ad hoc teacher found dead

New Delhi, April 27

A 33-year-old Delhi University ad hoc teacher, who was recently removed from the job at the Hindu College, was found dead at his house in outer Delhi’s Rani Bagh, the police said on Thursday, triggering a protest by former colleagues and students.

Samarveer, originally from Molki village in Rajasthan’s Baran district, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a room he shared with his cousin who had gone to duty at the time of incident, the police said.

They said no suicide was found, but according to the cousin, he was under depression. The cousin told the police that Samarveer, who was unmarried, was working as an ad-hoc lecturer in the Hindu College but a different lecturer was appointed in his place recently.

Hindu College principal Anju Srivastava did not respond to calls and texts requesting her statement.

Delhi University teachers and students staged a protest outside the Hindu College and demanded justice for Samarveer. They raised slogans and carried placards.

“We stand with the ad-hoc teachers’ struggle demanding job security. Justice to Professor Samarveer,” read one of the placards.

Shubhanshi Mishra, a Delhi University professor, said it appears that Samarveer ended his life. “He recently lost his job at Hindu College. It appears he died by suicide because he was upset,” she told PTI. Miranda House Associate Professor Abha Dev Habib said many long-serving ad-hoc teachers have been “displaced” in colleges based on “two-minute” interviews for a permanent position.

“The University has forced guest-ism by denying ad-hoc appointments against short-term vacancies. Also, workload norms have been tweaked by 11.11.2022 DU notification and which has overnight declared teachers as ‘surplus’,” she said.

The police, meanwhile, said they received a call on Wednesday regarding a man hanging himself to death at an apartment in Rani Bagh area. When a police team reached there, they found the room was locked from inside.

A mobile crime team of the outer district was called and the door was forcibly opened, said Harendra Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer).

The man was found hanging from the ceiling fan using a bedsheet, the DCP said, adding he was shifted to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. A team of experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory, Rohini, as well as the mobile crime team inspected the spot, he said. — PTI

No suicide note

The police said no suicide was found, but according to Samarveer’s cousin, he was depressed