IIT Kharagpur Student Suicide: 4th year BTech student found hanging in hostel room; probe on

NEW DELHI: In yet another incident, a fourth year student studying dual-degree in the department of electrical engineering from IIT Kharagpur died by suicide on the Tuesday night. The institute issued an official statement regarding the demise of the student and expressed its condolences to the family.

“With a sense of utter shock, the Students, Staff and Faculty members of IIT Kharagpur deeply mourn the sudden demise of Mr. K Kiran Chandra, a 4th year Dual Degree student in the Department of Electrical Engineering. He was a boarder of the Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Hall of Residence and chose the path of self-harm on the night of 17th October, 2023,” it said.

Kiran Chandra was with his two roommates till about 7.30 PM on October 17 in their hostel room. After the two roommates left for academic activities, around 8.30 PM other hostel mates found Kiran’s room locked from inside. Subsequently, the door was forced open and he was found hanging.

Kiran was rushed to BC Roy Technology Hospital immediately by the security and students. “Despite all efforts by the doctors, Kiran was declared dead around 11:30 PM,” the institute informed.

The police investigation is underway. The family of the deceased arrived today morning. “The Institute expresses its deepest condolences to the bereaved family and friends. The entire institute grieves this irreplaceable loss and prays for the eternal peace of the departed soul,” the statement read.

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In July this year, the education ministry told Rajya Sabha that 98 students died by suicide since 2018 across all central universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NIT), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) , Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institutes Science Education and Research (IISER).

Out of the total 98, 28 students belonged to OBC, nine from the Scheduled Caste (SC), three from Scheduled Tribe (ST) and four from other minority categories.

In a similar incident, two BTech students of IIT Delhi died by suicide within a month gap (in July and September). Ayush Ashna and Anil Kumar both belonged to SC and were students of mathematics department.

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