IIT Kanpur MTech student dies by suicide in hostel room

NEW DELHI: An MTech student, Vikas Kumar Meena, died by suicide at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Kanpur) last night. Vikas was pursuing MTech in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Kanpur and was a native of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. The exact cause of the extreme step is yet to be confirmed.

The incident was reported by students staying in the hostel who found Vikas’ body hanging from a ceiling fan. They rushed him to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared him dead. Thirty-one-year-old Vikas, son of Nemchand Meena, a resident of Lakshmi Vihar in Meerut, was in second year of MTech in Aerospace Engineering, Amar Ujala reported

Local police station in-charge Dhananjay Pandey said some students found Vikas' body hanging from a fan in his hostel room at around 10 pm.

According to the students living in nearby rooms, they did not see any movement in the room, so peeked inside Vikas’ room. Seeing Vikas's body hanging, the students informed the authorities concerned. The students then carried him to a health center. From there he was taken to Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital Kanpur where he was declared dead, Amar Ujala reported

The police said Vikas was “under stress” for several days. The body has been sent for post-mortem. Further action will be taken as soon as Vikas’ kin file a complaint. IIT Kanpur said, “An academically bright student, Vikas enrolled into an MTech degree programme in 2021. A forensic team has taken stock of the matter. The institute is awaiting further investigation by the police to determine the likely cause of death. With Vikas' passing, the institute lost a young and promising student.”

Recently, Pallavi Chilka, a doctoral student at the biological sciences and bioengineering department of IIT Kanpur died by suicide. In last five years, six other students have committed suicide at IIT Kanpur.

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