Hostel student found dead in LUMHS

Police collect mobile phone records from the victim's phone for investigation

HYDERABAD: A student of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro, was found dead in his hostel room on Thursday. Although it is being considered a case of suicide, some police sources have not ruled out murder.

With a gunshot to his head, the body of 21-year-old Muhammad Atif Arain, a 3rd year MBBS student, was found lying on his bed. The pistol, with which he presumably fired the gunshot, was held firmly in his hand which rested against his right thigh.



“His roommate [Muhammad Rafay] informed that Atif’s room was locked from inside,” said LUMHS Spokesperson Dr Saroop Bhatia while speaking to The Express Tribune. The wooden door of the room was not locked and the bolt was slid up only on the outer netted door, he added. Rafay had gone to his room number 61, in Ibn-e-Seena Hostel, on the varsity’s premises, in the afternoon.

Interestingly, according to Dr Bhatia, no one reported having heard the sound of a gunshot.



SHO Ashfaq Mangi told the local media that the police have started investigation and are collecting mobile phone records from Arain’s cell phone. Arain belonged to Badin district.

This is the second case of suspected suicide of a student in Jamshoro, which is home to three public sector universities located in close proximity of each other. In January 2016, a student of Sindh University, Naila Rind, was found hanged from the ceiling fan of her hostel room. The police investigation later disclosed that she was being blackmailed by a person.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2019.