Almost a week after UoH student Birbal Koizora Debbarma mysteriously fell off the third floor of his hostel in Hyderabad, allegedly triggered by depression, and his friends and bandmates from Agartala took on efforts to fund his surgeries, Birbal is due to have his last operation this evening, a close source has said.
On November 7, Birbal who was studying Language Sciences is said to have fallen, under mysterious circumstances, from his hostel window. According to reports by a local paper, he revealed that he was asked to end his life in a "dream". The incident occurred minutes after a cryptic Facebook status was posted around Mondy midnight.
After his band, Tiprasa Diaries, in a show of humanity and solidarity rallied local schools, colleges and universities in Agartala to pitch in to meet the Rs 10 lakh budget for his surgeries, it is said he has shifted from Care Hospital, where he was earlier admitted, to another location due to the alarming expenditure. Funds are also said to have poured in from Shillong and Guwahati but are still short of the required amount.
The close friend and bandmate added that many donations from Agartala mostly have reached Birbal's father's account but is still ongoing. Birbal is, however, stable and allowed to talk but not over the phone, he adds. He had previously mentioned that without a certain amount, none of the surgeries can proceed.
The incident, which came as a shock to his friends and family back home, yet again highlights the poor mechanism in colleges and educational institutions to identify and tackle mental illness and psychological disorders, now on a rise among the young.