A 19-year-old boy in Chennai after he was ridiculed for being homosexual. Avinshu Patel, who hailed from Mumbai, put up a social media post about the harassment he had suffered around him. A post published on his Facebook account indicates he ended his life as the ‘society did not accept him for being gay’.
“Everyone knows I am a boy. But the way I walk, think and talk is like a girl. People in India do not like that,” read the Facebook post. “Please do not blame my family. Help them. We are poor. I love my mom, dad and sister. I thank them for supporting me. It is not my fault that I was born gay.”
Avinshu had been working in a spa for three months. Since he was talented he was given advanced training to become a nail artist. He was not facing any problems at the workplace, police said.
Also read: Hyderabad: Class 10 boy attempts suicide after being ragged by classmates for Rs 1,000
Police said Avinshu had contacted one of his friends in Mumbai around 5pm the same day and told him that he was going to kill himself. The two hadn’t spoken for about a month after a fight but before the friend could console him Avi hung up, police said. By 10 pm, he had switched his phone off and was untraceable. When his manager tried to call him the next morning, the phone was answered by a police officer who said Avi had been found dead.
He was found dead on the beach, close to where he lived, by local people. They informed the police who shifted his body to the government hospital and informed his parents. Avi’s body has been taken back to his home in Mumbai by his parents. The Neelankarai police have registered a case of drowning and are probing his death.
His death has once again brought to the fore issues of bullying and discrimination that queer people face on an everyday basis.
