Sneha Debnath, a 19-year-old student of Delhi University, was found dead in the Yamuna River on Sunday evening, marking a tragic end to the life of a brilliant young woman whose potential had barely begun to unfold. Originally from Tripura, Sneha had moved to the national capital to pursue her academic ambitions and was juggling multiple responsibilities with remarkable determination.
She was a student of Mathematics at Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, affiliated with Delhi University, while simultaneously enrolled in a data science and programming course at IIT Madras. Beyond academics, Sneha had already begun carving out a professional path, working as an intern with an Australian firm.
On her LinkedIn profile, she described herself as someone who loved “talking about anything related to mathematics, computers, and the anime Monster.” Her family called her an "overachiever"—a young woman who never asked for money and took pride in earning for herself. “She was deeply respected within the family despite her age,” said a cousin.
Sneha left her residence in Delhi's Paryavaran Complex early on the morning of July 7, telling her mother that she was going to drop a friend at Sarai Rohilla Railway Station. Her last known phone call was at 5:56 am. By 8:45 am, when her family tried calling again, her phone was switched off. Later, the family discovered that the friend she was meant to meet never saw her that morning.
The trail led to a cab driver, who confirmed that he had dropped Sneha off at the Signature Bridge, which links Wazirabad in North Delhi with parts of the northeast city. That drop-off point would later become central to the tragic case.
As hours passed with no sign of her, Sneha’s family approached the police, who registered a kidnapping case. During the search, they found a handwritten note allegedly left by Sneha:
“It was my decision, fully conscious and under no influence. I chose to end my life by jumping from Signature Bridge, Delhi, early morning of 7th July. I felt like a failure and a burden, and it was getting unbearable to live like this… It was no one’s fault but mine. There is no foul play—this was all my decision.”
The note, however, left her family with more questions than answers. “It doesn’t make sense,” said her sister Bipasha. “There were no signs of depression. Just four lines in the note. If she really wanted to die, she could have done it at home. Why go all the way to a place where all 60 cameras were not working? Someone could have manipulated her.”
The family’s anguish was compounded by the revelation that none of the 60 CCTV cameras near the Signature Bridge were operational. This lack of surveillance crippled the police investigation at a critical juncture.
Sneha’s father, Subedar Major (Honorary Lieutenant) Pritish Debnath (Retd.), is undergoing dialysis for kidney failure, adding to the emotional toll on the family.