Tragic Suicide of Young Shooter at MP Academy Following Theft Accusation | Bhopal News – Times of India

BHOPAL: A 17-year-old sportsman at MP Shooting Academy died by suicide on Sunday evening, distressed at being accused of stealing a senior’s money. This is the first such tragedy at any shooting academy in India, officials in MP said.
The victim, Yatharth Raghuvanshi, was an only child. He shared his anguish with his father, Arun Raghuvanshi, Ashoknagar district sports officer, who was racing to Bhopal (180km away) to talk to the boy, but he took the extreme step.
No suicide note was found but police have WhatsApp messages he sent to his father, friend, and a cousin, where he expresses his shock at being accused of stealing Rs 40,000.
Ratibad SHO R B Sharma told TOI that Yatharth was in class 12 and had been training at the shooting academy for two years and had recently qualified for the nationals.
DCP (zone-1) Priyanka Shukla said a 21-year-old shooter at the academy had accused Yatharth of stealing Rs 40,000 of Rs 50,000 kept in his SUV. They exchanged messages on WhatsApp on the issue, and the senior warned that he would file a police complaint. No complaint on the alleged theft had been filed. Yatharth’s uncle Nitin Raghuvanshi said he sent a suicide note to a friend — a day scholar at the academy — naming six seniors. She forwarded the message to Yatharth’s cousin.
Yatharth was shaken but joined practice at the trap and skeet range. His father counselled him several times over phone and set off to meet him.
DCP Shukla said guns and ammunition are issued to players in the academy around 9am, and they are supposed to deposit the weapon and spent shells before 6pm. Two police constables oversee the armoury, and supervise distribution of ammunition and weapons.
Yatharth, who was practicing with a 12-gauge shotgun, turned it on himself in the lounge around 4.55pm. His suicide was captured on CCTV, but it went unnoticed till 5.30pm.
The watchman informed police, who sent his body for autopsy. His family has taken his mortal remains to Ashoknagar for last rites. Police said Yatharth’s phone has been sent for forensic analysis. If there’s a suicide note in his mobile, it will be found, said SHO Sharma, adding that if anyone has it, they can inform police.