Sources say the student was in debt as he invested some money in crypto currency.
A 20-year-old engineering student was found dead on Sunday on the railway tracks in Barkheda area of Raisen district – around 50 km from the Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal. No suicide note has been found and a message apparently sent from his phone to close friends and father has deepened the mystery around his death. Similar content was posted on his Instagram account. The message appears to threaten "those sinning against the Prophet" with decapitation. The police said they are investigating all angles.
Nishank Rathore's father Umashankar Rathore, a state government employee, said the message indicates that his son could have been murdered. "My son had never made any religiously controversial post on social media that could land him in trouble. The text message received from his phone and a similar content on Instagram post, suggests that he didn't kill himself, but may have actually been murdered," he said.
On Sunday, Nishank -- student of a private engineering college in Bhopal -- rented a scooter and went for a drive. He was seen near a toll plaza CCTV going towards Narmadapuram, but then appeared to change his mind and head for Bhopal.
Sources say the student was in debt as he invested some money in crypto currency. The police have recorded statements of all those who knew about Nishank's investments, including a Bhopal-based man who belongs to the minority community. Nishank had allegedly borrowed Rs 24,000 from him.
Mr Rathore said he was aware that his son was investing in crypto-currency. "But I can't believe that he had borrowed so heavily from others for it that he committed suicide due to the pressure of debt".
His son, Mr Rathore said, had come home on July 13 and voted in the local body polls. "He had met his sisters on Friday only and I'd transferred Rs 50,000 in my daughter's account to help Nishank pay his college fees," he added.
The local police said the short report of postmortem -- performed at the AIIMS, Bhopal -- has established that he was run over by a train. Subsequent investigations are underway. Nishank's cell-phone has been seized and sent for forensic analysis.
The police are recording the statements of all those related to the man, including his relatives and close friends in Bhopal, said Amrit Meena, a senior police officer.
"The case is being investigated from all angles. CCTV grabs from all places are being retrieved and analysed. So far we haven't got any such evidence which suggests that the death could be a case of hate killing or murder due to any other cause. Prima facie it seems as matter of suicide, though no suicide note has been found from the spot. No signs or marks of resistance have been found anywhere on Nishank's body that could suggest that he could've been murdered, but still we're probing all possible angles," he added.