IIT Delhi final-year engineering physics student dies by suicide in hostel

NEW DELHI: A fourth-year student of Engineering Physics at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, Samarpit Sahu, died at his hostel today. IIT Delhi director, V Ramgopal Rao informed students via mail and said “it pains us to inform you that he took his own life”.

The IIT Delhi director said that the student was found by his hostel mates and rushed to AIIMS where he was declared brought dead.

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Rao further said that they do not know much about the incident at this moment and will inform everyone once they get to know more.

Earlier in June, a mechanical engineering student, Hari Prasath, studying in third year at IIT Delhi died by suicide in his hostel.

Prasath was dealing with depression and was undergoing treatment on the campus. While he was doing well until the second year at the institute, he started struggling with studies thereafter, the letter from IIT Delhi said in June.

Following Prasath's death, some students of the institute issued a statement in which they cited language barrier and cultural isolation to be some of the reasons behind students’ suicide.

Those students had demanded a "fully empowered institute-level commission" including at least 50% members from students to investigate the incident.

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IIT Delhi has lost several students over the past few years to suicide. In November 2019, a first-year student died in hospital after committing suicide on campus.

In December 2019, the education ministry had told Parliament that 50 IIT students had died by suicide over the previous five years.

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