Update on Apr 9, 2010:
The Indian Express reports on Friday that a preliminary medical report on the death of Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras suggests he died due to poisoning.
“His death was not due to natural causes. Traces of poison were found in his stomach,” said Maan Singh Chauhan, Superintendent of Police (City), Aligarh. “There were blue spots on the body, his nails were blue.”
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) professor Srinivas Ramchandra Siras, who had returned to work at the university just days ago after the Allahabad High Court lifted the suspension in a temporary order last week, was found dead at his rented residence outside the university on Wednesday.
Several media outlets have described the professor’s death as being “under mysterious circumstances.” According to media reports, his body was lying on his bed and blood was oozing out of his mouth. The police declined to comment immediately on the nature of the death, but did not rule out suicide.
The 64-year-old vacated his university accommodation after he was suspended on February 9 following a video clip – recorded by intruders –showing him having sex with another man in his campus home was sent to university administration.
Dr Siras, who headed the department of modern Indian languages at the university and where he had taught for 22 years, is due to retire this September. He had only just returned to work on Monday.
"I am happy because I have been judged in a wrong way. I have already said that I am gay. I am the same man, with the same qualification, with the same features and personality," he told NDTV. "I feel very very easy and very comfortable to say that I'm gay."
The Hindustan Times on Wednesday reported that he was found by his neighbour who peeped into the late professor’s apartment after noticing a foul smell.
Members of the Independent Fact Finding Committee*, who had documented the late professor’s case for the purposes of a potential lawsuit against the university for unlawful and unethical suspension, issued a statement yesterday demanding the police “conduct a full, fair and impartial investigation into the cause of death.”
According to the fact-finding report which was released on Mar 10, Dr. Siras had repeatedly but unsuccessfully tried to file a First Information Report (FIR) about the various offences which were committed against him including criminal intimidation, assault, trespass and wrongful confinement on 3 and 4 March.
The statement concluded by saying: “That Dr Siras had to undergo the trauma, fear, harassment and humiliation in his own beloved University in what would turn out to be his last weeks is condemnable. If these events and that trauma are in any way linked to his death, then all actors involved must be held culpable.”
IBN Live on Thursday quoted a police spokesperson as saying that the police has ruled out a case of murder. "The manner in which the door was locked from inside indicates suicide," said Aligarh SP Mansingh Chauhan.
The Aligarh Muslim University Teachers' Association (AMUTA) has also demanded a high-level probe after an emergency meeting was convened.
"We are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain whether it was a case of suicide or natural death. But one thing is clear, he was subjected to severe harassment by the university authorities and was under intense mental pressure," AMUTA Secretary Jamshed Siddique told the Times of India. "To suspend a professor without inquiry is unjustified and is another example of the high-handed behaviour of the vice chancellor," he alleged.
*The Independent Fact Finding Committee comprises Deepti Sharma (Saheli, Delhi), Anjali Gopalan (Naz Foundation, Delhi), Gautam Bhan (Voices against Sec 377, Delhi), Pramada Menon (Voices against Sec 377, Delhi), Lesley Esteves (PRISM, Delhi), Sunil Gupta (Nigah, Delhi), Arvind Narrain (Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore), Jaya Sharma (Nirantar, Delhi), Avantika (AALI, Lucknow), Saleem Kidwai (Lucknow), Kabi Sherman, and LABIA (Lesbians and Bisexuals in Action, Mumbai).
A tribute page dedicated to the late professor Srinivas Ramchandra Siras has been set up at: orinam.net/in-memoriam-dr-shrinivas-ramchandra-siras. A candlelight memorial will be held on Friday from 6-7pm @ Humsafar Trust, Municipal Market Building, Nehru Road, Vakola, Santacruz East, Mumbai, India.
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