Kalyan, Nov 20: A deeply distressing incident has been reported from Kalyan East, where a 19-year-old college student, Arnav Khaire, died by suicide after allegedly being assaulted in a crowded local train during a heated argument over speaking Marathi.

According to the complaint lodged at Kolsewadi Police Station the incident occurred on 18 November. Arnav a first-year science student at Vaze-Kelkar College Mulund boarded the Ambernath–Mumbai local train from Kalyan at around 8:40 am.

As the compartment was packed with passengers he was pushed back repeatedly by the heavy crowd. Arnav politely requested the commuters ahead to move slightly forward so he could stand properly.

However this simple request escalated unexpectedly. A group of two to four passengers allegedly confronted him aggressively, asking: “Are you ashamed to speak Marathi?” Arnav reportedly clarified that he was Marathi himself, but the group refused to listen and began assaulting him between Dombivli and Thane stations inside the moving train.

Shaken, injured, and deeply traumatised, Arnav alighted at Thane instead of travelling onward to Mulund for college. He returned to his home in Sahjeevan Residency, Kalyan East, and informed his father, Jitendra Khaire, about the assault over a phone call. The incident had left him in a state of severe emotional shock.

A short while later, when no family members were at home, Arnav died by suicide by hanging.

Arnav lived with his parents and younger brother. His father, who works in a private firm, expressed profound grief and demanded strict action:

A dispute over language should never reach such an extreme. No family should suffer what we are going through. I want justice for my son.

The Kolsewadi Police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR). Confirming the development ACP Kalyan jee Ghete stated that an ADR has been registered and a detailed police investigation is currently underway.

Since the assault took place aboard a running suburban train, the case may be transferred to the Kalyan Railway Police for further investigation. Officials said that the identity and linguistic background of the accused will be established only after a thorough inquiry.

Despite Arnav himself being Marathi he was allegedly assaulted by individuals who questioned his use of the language a fact that has sparked serious concern among local residents. The incident has raised alarming questions about rising intolerance and commuter safety in Mumbai’s suburban railway network.

The Khaire family, devastated by the loss of their son, continues to urge authorities for a fair, transparent, and swift investigation into the events that pushed the young student to end his life.

Mumbai: The campaign for the Nagar Panchayat and Municipal Council elections in the state has reached its peak and BJP leaders have published booklets in Urdu to promote their candidates. Samajwadi Party MLA from ‘Bhiwandi East’ Raees Shaikh has welcomed the BJP’s Urdu booklet. MLA Shaikh claimed that the BJP has realised, albeit belatedly, that Urdu is not the language of any single religion.

BJP MLA from ‘Aran’ in Raigad district Mahesh Baldi’s workers are distributing booklets in Urdu during the Municipal Council elections. Pointing out this, MLA Raees Shaikh said that ‘on one hand they hate Muslims on the basis of religion and when their votes are needed, they resort to Urdu language’, which is a double-edged sword of the BJP. State Fisheries and Ports Minister Nitish Rane should express his feelings about the printing of BJP’s campaign booklets in Urdu.

The state has an Urdu Sahitya Academy. However, this academy is considered an institution working for Muslims. The condition of the Urdu Academy is such that there is no fund, no office, no staff. Urdu language centers, Urdu schools, Urdu speaking teachers, Urdu homes are not given funds and space. The BJP government has closed the Urdu monthly ‘Lok Rajya’, which has been running for five decades. MLA Raees Shaikh has asked why the BJP, which is so hostile to the Urdu language and Muslims, should regret the Urdu Muslim votes at the time of elections? Urdu is not the language of any religion. Urdu speaking writers and lyricists have contributed a lot to the development of Bollywood. There are 75 lakh Urdu speakers in the state and 25 Urdu dailies are published in the state daily. MLA Raees Shaikh has advised the BJP to curb its conspiracy to spread hatred on the basis of language and religion for selfish politics.

Venugopal alias Bhupati had surrendered in Mumbai Gadchiroli, now after the encounter of Maoist Hedma, he has released a video and appealed for the second time that there is a need to put down weapons and work among the common people, there is a need to fight a legal battle for the rights of the people through democratic means.

Venugopal, after releasing his latest video, has made a heartfelt appeal to the Maoists that the way they are living with the common people after surrendering, there is a need to fight for development through democratic means. After surrendering, the Maoist said that his faith in democracy has been restored, now the situation has changed, there has been a change in the previous situation and the current situation. Along with this, the lives of many comrades have been lost and in such a situation, the lives of 6 comrades including Hedma have been lost, so now it is necessary to give up arms because it is impossible to continue the war through weapons and violence. Now we need to focus on development work along with the government in a democratic way and work for the rights of the people. This is our responsibility. Therefore, you can also contact me. Venugopal has appealed to the comrades for the second time to give up violence and lay down arms. Earlier, he had appealed to surrender in Gadchiroli because the Maoists had started calling Bhupati a traitor. Bhupati had denied this too and invited them to give up arms. Similarly, he has invited the Turks to lay down arms for the second time. A video of Venugopal Bhupati is viral in which he is saying that now the situation has changed, so the situation cannot be changed through violence, the path of non-violence is better for him.