In a shocking incident, a teenager in the Tisgaon Naka area of Thane’s Kalyan East near Mumbai died by suicide after being thrashed for not speaking Marathi. The boy was allegedly assaulted in a local train by a group of 4-5 people.

The victim was identified as Arnav Laxman Khaire, a first-year science student. He was travelling to his college in Mulund on Tuesday when he asked a fellow passenger in Hindi to move forward, as per reports. His father, Jeetendra Khaire, said a group of 4-5 passengers confronted him over not speaking Marathi and proceeded to brutally thrash him.

“Arnav was travelling to his college in Mulund on a local train on Tuesday morning when the assault took place between Kalyan and Thane stations," Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kalyanji Gete, said.

In a state of shock, Arnav got off at Thane and took another train to Mulund. According to the victim’s father, Arnav came under significant mental stress after the assault and was unable to focus on his studies. He left college early and returned home in the afternoon and told his father about the incident, and the latter sensed fear and tension in his voice.

When the father returned home from work in the evening, he found the door locked from the inside. After opening it with the help of neighbours, he found his son hanging in the bedroom. Arnav was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead, as per local reports.

Arnav’s father filed a case at the Kolsewadi police station and an investigation has been launched in the matter. A case of accidental death was registered.

The Hindi-Marathi row has exploded in Maharashtra, especially in the Mumbai metropolitan region, after opposition parties like the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena took on the government over two GRs on the three-language policy in schools and teaching of Hindi from Class I.

It escalated after incidents involving verbal and physical assaults, vandalism, and public intimidation by the MNS workers were reported from various parts of the state, drawing widespread criticism and legal scrutiny. In multiple videos that have gone viral on social media, MNS workers were seen confronting shopkeepers, auto drivers, and even bank employees for not speaking Marathi.

Source: News18