On Thursday night, a 22-year-old college student returned home after spending hours at a police station in North Goa, where he was summoned for allegedly littering a roadside. By midnight, as his phone buzzed with messages and abuse over a viral video of the incident, he appeared distressed, his family said.
A few hours later, he was dead.
“People were tagging him in that viral video, abusing him. He seemed upset and stressed,” said his eldest sister, 26, at the family’s house in North Goa on Saturday.
The young man had killed himself just three hours after he was let go by the Goa police after allegedly being made to wait at the police station for hours. His death, which has put the spotlight on online shaming and police apathy, has prompted Goa Chief Minister to order an inquiry into the incident.
It was on Wednesday evening that the third-year BA student drove nearly 500 metres from his house, carrying an “empty cardboard” to dump it at a greenbelt along a road, where some garbage had been lying, his family said. As he parked his scooter, a local rebuked him for littering and recorded a video. The video also showed the person snatching the keys of his scooter.
He returned home and told his family about the incident, before retiring to his room. “He played on his phone and slept that night,” said his sister.
Around 2.40 pm on Thursday, his second sister received a call from the local police station, summoning him in connection with a littering complaint. “Since the vehicle was registered in my name, they called me. They said a video has gone viral, and action may be taken,” the 24-year-old said. “We had never been to a police station before this. So, we were worried.”
She said she and her brother were asked to stay in the waiting area until 6 pm. Their mother, a school teacher, who had accompanied them, had a meeting and had to return home, but soon went back to the police station. His eldest sister also went to the police station that evening.
“My mother apologised. But they (the police) said the video has gone viral and an offence will be registered. The police officials questioned him. He was told that a fine would have to be paid in court and that he had to report to the police station for three more days…That he cannot leave the city,” the eldest sister told The Indian Express.
The police booked the youth under section 271 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the BNS, 2023, and section 8 (1) of The Goa Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act, 1996, based on a suo motu complaint by a sub-inspector. The complaint states that the youth “knowingly, negligently and unlawfully littered a public place by throwing garbage on the roadside, thereby creating nuisance, annoyance and health hazard to the public and endangering public safety and sanitation”.
The family returned from the police station around 10 pm and ordered chicken and soft drinks from a fast-food joint. The sisters said their brother was “visibly stressed” during dinner and did not join the family for prayer that night. He went to his room and picked up his phone to scroll Instagram.
“His number had been leaked. People were texting him, condemning him for littering… The video was all over social media. I am certain he read all those comments. He was made to feel as if he had committed some grave crime,” the eldest sister said.
When she went to check on him around midnight, he was not in his room. She searched the house and knocked on his bathroom door. There was no answer. When she pushed the door ajar, she saw him lying on the bathroom floor.
Police said the preliminary probe found that he shot himself with an airgun from close range; the family said they are not aware how he had access to it. He was declared dead on arrival at the casualty ward at the district hospital. The post-mortem was conducted on Friday, and a report is awaited.
‘He was not a criminal’
The family said the ordeal, from “trolling, bullying and humiliation on social media” to the alleged “harassment by the police and the FIR”, took a toll and “pushed him to the edge”.
“He was embarrassed. His face was flashed across social media pages and on local news portals. He was not a criminal. Littering is an offence, but where are the bins to dump garbage?” a relative said.
The family has filed a complaint with the police and sought the arrest of the person who recorded the viral video. “This vigilantism and social media trolling has cost his life,” his sister said.
His friends described him as soft-spoken and an introvert. “He was a vulnerable and respectful person. Even in that video, he is apologising,” said his college friend.
Pointing to the garbage dumped at the same spot, the friend asked, “Where are the authorities now?”
Mapusa Sub-Divisional Police Officer Salim Shaikh on Friday told the media, “We received a complaint that the youth was illegally dumping garbage on the roadside, and the video had gone viral on social media. We examined the incident and registered an offence under the Goa Non-Biodegradable Garbage Control Act. Under this Act, the punishment most commonly meted out is a fine, though imprisonment is also one of the options, depending on the discretion of the court.”
“We called him to the police station, interviewed him, issued a notice to him, and sent him home. At that time, there were many people at the police station and several matters were ongoing, so it took us some time to deal with him,” said Shaikh.
On allegations of harassment against the police officials, Goa DGP Alok Kumar said, “We are examining the allegations. The family has filed a complaint and an inquiry will be conducted.”
