Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on Saturday expressed deep sorrow over the death by suicide of 23-year-old Marri Pravallika and sought a report, within 48 hours, from the Chief Secretary, DGP and secretary of the TS Public Service Commission.
Extending her condolences to Pravallika’s family, she urged unemployed youth not to lose hope and to exhibit courage in their pursuit of gainful employment.
“The untimely demise of Pravallika is a poignant reminder of the challenges and pressures faced by young aspirants preparing for competitive examinations,” a Raj Bhavan press communique said.
“In this particular case, it has come to the Governor’s attention that Pravallika had been preparing for the Group-2 examination, which had been postponed by the TSPSC,” it said.
The suicide of a 23-year-old government-job aspirant took a twist on Saturday, 14 October, with the Hyderabad police saying “love failure” forced the woman to take the extreme step.
The woman’s death sparked a mass protest on Friday night as hundreds of students spilled over to the street in Ashok Nagar, and held the BRS government responsible for the tragic incident.
The woman, Marri Pravallika, was preparing for the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) exams.
The woman from Warangal was found dead hanging from the ceiling of her hostel room in Hyderabad’s Ashok Nagar area on Friday late evening.
The protesters claimed that she took the drastic step since the TSPSC postponed its Group-2 examination.
However, the police have been maintaining that Pravallika was dejected after her boyfriend, Shivaram Rathod, left her for another woman.
Police said Rathod was likely to booked under IPC Section 306 pertaining to abetment of suicide.
The police also said that an arrest may be made based on the physical evidence it has gathered — such as Pravallika’s phone, the suicide note, and CCTV footage of the two — once it comes back from the forensic science laboratory (FSL).
Refuting the police version, Pravallika’s brother told media that she was worried about the increasing financial burden her coaching fee had been placing on her family.
A senior police officer told South First that investigators had reached the conclusion about a failed relationship based on the “physical evidence” collected.
“We checked the WhatsApp and other social media conversations of the woman with her boyfriend and others.It seems she was involved in an affair with a man hailing from Mahbubnagar district for several years now.They also went to watch a movie on the day of the incident (13 October) around 11 am.He (Rathod) promised to marry but later got engaged to another woman.She had shared her grief with other friends before committing suicide,” he said.
The officer added that investigators have “physical evidence” to substantiate that she was depressed due to “personal reasons”.
In a death note found in Pravallika’s room, she asked for her parents’ forgiveness.No specific motive was mentioned in the note.“The motive is clear from her WhatsApp chat,” the police officer said, adding a case has been registered under section 174 (police to probe suicide) of the CrPC.
The family’s version
The woman’s brother said she last contacted her family on Thursday, 12 October.
“She did not mention anything specific.She always wanted to clear the TSRSC Group exams right from the moment she started pursuing her degree from Geetanjali Degree College (Warangal).
She had been preparing for the exams,” Pravallika’s brother Marri Raju told South First.
The woman had been preparing for the exams for the past four years.
Initially, she studied from her home at Bikkajipally village in Duggondi before moving to Hyderabad seeking better coaching facilities.
The deceased, hailing from a Backward Community (BC-D), took accommodation at Brindavan Girls’ Hostel and enrolled herself at the nearby RC Reddy Coaching Centre.
She moved to Hyderabad on 25 September, the police said.
Her brother denied the woman was having an affair.
TSPSC examinations
In March this year, the TSPSC announced the cancellation of the Group-1 preliminary exam, which was held on 16 October, 2022.The cancellation was due to concerns over a question paper leak.
On 23 September, the Telangana High Court ordered the cancellation of the Group-1 preliminary examination due to the TSPSC’s failure in following due procedures in conducting the exam.
On 10 October, the TSPSC decided to postpone the recruitment examination for Group 2 posts.
The exam, originally scheduled for 2-3 November, has now been rescheduled to 6-7 January 2024.This postponement was necessitated due to the upcoming Telangana Assembly election on 30 November.
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