IIT-KGP student death: Authorities urge hostel inmates to use counselling mechanism during exigency

KOLKATA: IIT-Kharagpur acting director Amit Patra has held two more meetings with student representatives to emphasise that the institute is always ready to offer support to boarders suffering any form of mental anxiety, days after an inmate was found dead in a hostel room, an official said.

Patra met students union representatives on Tuesday and Wednesday to drive home the message that the institute is by their side in every situation of mental stress , he said.

"The acting director met the students' representatives to discuss matters related to their welfare. We have asked them to tell every student member of the IIT family that they should use the counselling mechanism during any exigency," the institute official said.

The institute also sent an advisory on Tuesday, urging students to stand together "as a community" and come to the aid of anyone “struggling with grief or any emotional anguish”. The advisory called upon anyone, faced with depression, "to share feelings and concerns" with the counsellors at hand to "navigate" through the situation.

A third-year student of Electrical Engineering, Shaon Malik , was found dead inside his hostel room at the institute on Sunday morning. The students have also been asked to report any unusual behaviour of their batchmates, symptoms of mental stress or if they were faced with any crisis situation, to higher authorities and take them to a counsellor if required, the official said.

Patra had met representatives of ‘Technology Students’ Gymkhana’ on Monday. The institute has also formed a committee to probe Malik’s death.