PUNE: A 25-year-old man preparing for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) competitive examinations was found dead at his rented flat in Shaniwar Peth on Wednesday morning.Senior inspector Navnath Jagtap of the Vishrambaug police said, “We have identified the deceased student as Prathamesh Deshmukh, a resident of Paranda in Dharashiv district. He died by suicide because of financial distress and debt.”Deputy commissioner of police (Zone I) Krushikesh Rawale told TOI, “Our preliminary investigation has revealed that the deceased appears to have died by suicide owing to financial indebtedness. However, all aspects are being thoroughly verified, and further legal action will be taken accordingly.”Senior police inspector Jagtap said, “Deshmukh had been living in Pune for the past two to three years and preparing for competitive examinations. He had been staying in a one-BHK flat on the third floor of a building with other students for the past eight months.”He said, “A note, purportedly written by Prathamesh, has been recovered from his room. It indicates that financial distress and debt were the reasons for him taking the extreme step. He stated that he had a debt of Rs 2.5 lakh.”The officer said, “The note contains a list of people he had borrowed money from. We are probing this list and investigating why he had borrowed the money.”He said, “Prathamesh’s roommates, with whom he hardly spoke, told us that he returned to the flat around 11pm on Tuesday. Later, his roommates went to sleep. They woke up at around 7am and found the door of Prathamesh’s room ajar. They peeped inside and found him hanging. He had used a bedsheet, and his roommates raised an alarm.”Senior police inspector Jagtap said, “Prathamesh’s father died a few years ago. His mother lives alone in their native village, Paranda. He had four sisters. All of them are married. His relatives, who stay in the city, visited the police station and told us that he belonged to a financially poor family.”Prathamesh had been preparing for the civil services examinations and was reportedly planning to return to his village after failing to clear the preliminary examination.“He had borrowed Rs 2.5 lakh from various people for personal expenses,” senior police inspector Jagtap said.Prashant Kapse, Prathamesh’s brother-in-law, reached the spot after receiving information about his death and inspected the entire flat.The postmortem was performed at Sassoon General Hospital later in the afternoon. The exact cause of Prathamesh’s death will be established after medical and forensic examination.According to Prathamesh’s roommate, he was a shy person and hardly spoke. Police said he never discussed his studies with his roommates or others.He used to leave the flat in the morning and return late at night and rarely communicated with his roommates.
