NIT Durgapur student dies by suicide; director resigns ‘taking responsibility’ over negligence

NEW DELHI: In a tragic incident, an National Institute of Technology Durgapur (NIT Durgapur) engineering student dies by suicide due to medical negligence and administration oversight, students and a faculty alleged. Following the incident, the NIT Durgapur director Arvind Choubey has submitted a resignation letter accepting the allegations of inadequacy.

The second-year mechanical engineering student, Arpan Ghosh, was found hanging inside his hostel room on Sunday evening. Several students of the institute claimed that the student took the extreme step due to academic pressure and negligence.

Arvind Choubey resigned from his post last night, NIT Joint Registrar (Establishment) Asit Kumar confirmed to Careers360. “He resigned yesterday. And the letter has been sent to the ministry of education and we have not heard from them yet,” he said.

“The parents have lost their child and we are deeply moved by the situation. The body is still on campus. Our focus is to support the family and we have gone through a lot,” PRO NIT Durgapur said.

Deeply saddened by the incident, the research and development head, Jay Gupta wrote on social media: “This devastating event echoes a similar tragedy in 2016, underscoring systemic failures that demand urgent attention. Yet, little has changed since then. We call for accountability, urging the resignation of the director, whose actions have only exacerbated the situation. From undermining student welfare by dissolving essential bodies like the Gymkhana to disregarding student voices by cancelling cultural events, the director's decisions have only added to the distress.”

“Furthermore, the director's decision to revert to offline classes for final year students, amidst calls for reduced academic pressure, is baffling. This, coupled with financial mismanagement and a callous attitude towards student concerns, reflects a disturbing lack of empathy and leadership,” he added.

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NIT Durgapur director resigns

In the resignation letter, the head of the institute wrote: “I, Arvind Choubey, as the Director of NIT Durgapur, hereby take complete responsibility for whatever happened today 28th April, 2024.”

“The NIT Durgapur community has lost one of its beloved members, Arpan Ghosh from Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2nd year. He unfortunately passed away due to medical negligence and inadequacy on the behalf of NIT Durgapur institution. Hence, I hereby resign from the post of Director, NIT Durgapur with immediate effect as on date 28/04/2024,” the letter read.

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