Kerala government to repatriate Arunachal student’s body after alleged suicide
Kerala has arranged to embalm and send Michi Marpu's body to Arunachal Pradesh after his alleged death by suicide in Kothamangalam. The case is also focusing attention on MA College's year-back system and its implementation after student protests.
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- Aug 18, 2026,
- Updated Aug 18, 2026, 12:39 PM IST
- The state arranged embalming and will fund transport to Ziro
- Marpu was found dead in his rented flat in Kothamangalam
- Police registered a case and are probing the circumstances behind death
Kerala Higher Education Minister Roji M John said on August 17 that the state government had made arrangements to embalm and repatriate the body of a 20-year-old engineering student from Arunachal Pradesh who allegedly died by suicide in Kothamangalam.
Michi Marpu, a BTech student at MA College of Engineering, was found dead at the rented accommodation he shared with college mates on Saturday. He was found lying on the floor with a rope around his neck.
According to a statement from the minister’s office, the Kerala government is bearing the entire cost of transporting the body to Marpu’s native place in Arunachal Pradesh.
The body was flown from Kochi to Delhi on an IndiGo flight at 6 pm on Monday. It is scheduled to be flown from Delhi to Donyi Polo Airport in Itanagar at 3.30 pm on August 18.
The Kerala government has also asked the Arunachal Pradesh administration to arrange an ambulance equipped with a mobile freezer and other necessary facilities to receive the body at the airport and take it to Marpu’s family home in Ziro, in Lower Subansiri district.
Police have registered a case and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.
The incident has also triggered concerns over the year-back system at the engineering college. John said he had spoken to the college authorities and that an agreement had been reached to proceed in accordance with the regulations of Kerala Technological University (KTU), to which the college is affiliated.
KTU’s newly formed syndicate had recently decided to temporarily suspend the year-back system following concerns raised by students and parents.
Police suspect Marpu may have feared losing an academic year because of a low credit score. Students at the college had protested against the system, claiming that the minimum credit requirement at MA College of Engineering was higher than that prescribed by other engineering colleges in Kerala.
The students also alleged that the college continued to implement the year-back system despite KTU’s decision to suspend it.
The system was introduced in 2024 and stipulated that students who failed to secure the required credits by the fifth semester would be moved back by a year. The decision was due to take effect in 2026 and began applying this year to students entering their fifth semester.
