First-year BTech student found dead at Odisha's KIIT hostel; mother blames girlfriend's family

BHUBANESWAR: The body of a first-year B Tech student of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) was found hanging in his hostel room here, the third such incident in less than a year, police said on Monday.

The deceased was identified as Rahul Yadav (18), a Computer Science student, who hailed from Raipur in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sonal Singh Parmar said. Earlier, two female Nepalese students were found hanging in their hostel rooms on the KIIT campus on February 16 and May 1, respectively.

Parmar said the latest incident had taken place around 10.45 pm on Sunday, and the body was recovered by the personnel of Infocity Police Station. “The autopsy was conducted at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar in presence of the magistrate and family members of the deceased student,” she said.

Preliminary inquiry points to friendship of the deceased student with “a girl of the same age based in Chhattisgarh”, police said, adding, complications in the relationship might have led to differences between them. His mother has lodged a complaint against the family of the girl.

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'Student Suicide Cases' in KIIT

“The complaint alleges harassment of her son by the father, mother and brother of the girl. Based on her complaint, registration of a case at Infocity PS is underway,” the police said in a statement. The body of the student has been handed over to family members.

Meanwhile, KIIT in a statement termed the incident “sad and unfortunate”. “It is believed to be a love-related incident. The student died by suicide due to personal reasons. The student's mother has also informed about this. His mother said that he had been in love with a young woman,” it said.

“After the postmortem, his mother informed that the girl’s father and family had threatened and intimidated the student . As a result, he was forced to die by suicide. The deceased’s family has said it will file a police complaint against the girl’s family,” the KIIT statement said.

The institute also expressed concern over the "increasing rate" of suicide among students in various educational institutions in Odisha and outside it. The deceased student’s mother also spoke about her reservations about ceiling fans in the KIIT hostel.

“The college authority is also to be blamed for keeping overhead fans in hostel rooms. There is no such facility in several hostels in Kota (Rajasthan), where thousands study,” she said. The police have seized the mobile phone and laptop of the deceased as part of the investigation.

The hostel room has also been sealed. Adequate police personnel were deployed near KIIT to maintain law and order, officials said. BJP MLA Saroj Padhi expressed concern over the frequent “student suicide cases” in KIIT. "We will place a demand before the chief minister to take stringent action against those responsible for the death of the students in KIIT," Padhi told reporters.

If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. Those in distress or having suicidal thoughts or tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling 9820466726 or visiting AASRA’s official website or can call iCALL on 9152987821. Here are some more helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.