By IANS,
Sivakasi (Tamil Nadu) : A 17-year-old German female student was found dead Thursday in the hostel of a catering college in mysterious circumstances in this Tamil Nadu town.
The police said Hope Louise Eckert died due to electrocution but they were further investigating the case to ensure that there was no foul play.
“It is obvious that the death was due to electrocution after having come in contact with a live wire. However, our officials are trying to establish as to how the incident took place because the dead girl admitted to having been homesick,” superintendent of police T. Senthilkumar said.
The German girl was on a two-week course with a voluntary aency – Projects Abroad – headquartered in Britain, and had complained to her batchmates of being extremely homesick.
“The deceased arrived in India Aug 9. According to her course mates, staying in a hostel to take part in the programme, she felt dejected due to a complete absence of friends and a language handicap since she did not know either English or Tamil,” deputy superintendent of police R. Rajagopal told IANS.
“The parents and younger sibling have been informed on phone and they will start for India from Frankfurt early Friday. The body will be preserved in cold storage here till their arrival, after which a post-mortem examination will be conducted by doctors,” Rajagopal added.
Projects Abroad has been conducting courses for students from advanced countries in developing nations to encourage social awareness. The course includes methods of cooking and understanding tough conditions in tropical countries, a source close to the institution said.
When contacted on phone in Sussex, Britain, a spokesman of Projects Abroad said, “I am not making any statement to anybody, least of all from India.”