25-year-old Jeevanth Sivakumar from Tamil Nadu who was pursuing post graduation in Aston University in the United Kingdom died after he was retrieved from a canal in Birmingham, West Midlands, on Wednesday, June 21. While a spokesperson for West Midlands Police said that the death is not being treated as suspicious, Jeevanth’s family in Coimbatore allege foul play in his death.
The police spokesperson told the media that they pulled out Jeevanth from the canal and called for an ambulance. The ambulances arrived at the scene six minutes after the call and the paramedic officers and doctors began providing advanced life-support. However, Jeevanth stopped responding to treatment and died on the spot. The West Midlands Police are not treating the death as suspicious and will be referring the case to the coroner soon.
However, Jeevanth’s younger brother Rohan told Times of India that his brother was a good student who used to call his family daily. He suggested that the family is suspecting foul play in his death.
Family members have confirmed that Jeevanth’s body has not been repatriated. According to reports, the West Midlands Police are likely to send Jeevanth’s remains only after the investigations commence. The Indian National Students Association (INSA) Aston University is supporting the repatriation from the UK and Jeevanth’s father is coordinating with them. According to INSA’s general secretary, no one at the university knows why Jeevanth was alone by the canal at night nor what happened to him.
It has been reported that Jeevanth informed his friends of going to a library around 6 pm, the day before he died. A few hours after he left, he informed his friends through a call that he would not be joining them for dinner and said that he will join them later. His friends have reportedly said that he didn’t answer his phone after that call and mentioned that his phone wasn’t reachable during the wee hours on Wednesday.
Coimbatore’s Periya Nayagan Palayam police have also reached out to Jeevanth’s parents and are conducting inquiries.