Failed expectations to blame?

CHENNAI: Police suspect that addiction to alcohol, failure in love and mounting arrears in college could have driven 21-year-old engineering student, S Manivannan, to commit suicide on campus on Tuesday. A native of Pappireddipatti in Dharmapuri, Manivannan was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his hostel room. As a child, Manivannan had seen abject poverty when he worked as a labourer with his mother and siblings, until the Dharmapuri Collector enabled his admission into a school. He ranked 13th in the State Plus Two exams and chose to study Electronics and Communication Engineering. Investigating officer B Jeyashankar said the student had failed in 20 subjects. He had been drinking heavily for the last several months and was not moving ahead in studies. The inspector said a requisition had been submitted for the caller details of Manivannan’s cell phone and his marksheets for further probe. Stating that the autopsy had ruled out foul play, he said: “The student had aspirations to become an IAS officer.”