A 22-year-old IIT Kharagpur third-year civil engineering student was found dead on Sunday. His body was found hanging in his room in the Madan Mohan Malaviya (MMM) Hall. The student has been identified as Mohammad Asif Qamar from Bihar's Sheohar district. Just moments before his death, he was on a video call with his friend in Delhi.
At 2:53 AM, IIT's security officer received a call from this Delhi-based girl that Qamar had harmed himself. "The girl reportedly told the IIT security officer that the student hanged in front of her. The security officer asked about her location, to which she reportedly said she was in Delhi and the student was at MMM Hall," Times Of India quoted a source as saying.
The police from the Hijli outpost arrived at the IIT campus and around 3:30 AM they broke the door and found Qamar's hanging body. Qamar's suicide is the second such case in a fortnight, TOI reported citing police.
In the last case, Aniket Walkar, a fourth-year student of the department of ocean engineering and naval architecture, died by suicide in his hostel room on April 20. This year there have been three suicides at IIT Kharagpur-- all on Sundays. Following back-to-back cases of suicide in recent past, IIT Kharagpur had already announced several measures.
However, police, are yet to issue a statement on the possible reasons behind Qamar's death. A statement is expected only after the autopsy at Midnapore Medical College Hospital on Monday morning. Qamar's relatives arrived in Kharagpur on Sunday evening after being informed about his death.
According to police, the student stayed at the SDS block of the MMM Hall. His room had been locked since Saturday night and his roommate was also on leave. After the police found him hanging, they rushed him to BC Roy Hospital on the IIT campus, where doctors declared him dead.
A senior official said, "We have not found any history of mental health issues, medical treatment, or his visit to the IIT counselling centre."
IIT Kharagpur Expresses Grief Over Student's Death
The TOI report stated that Qamar, who is a 2022 batch student, had an exam malpractice case against him in early 2024, after which he was deregistered from that course. He was supposed to do it again in the next semester. However, his performance had been improving and he had been taking multiple computer science (optional) courses.
IIT Kharagpur expressed grief over the incident and issued a statement, saying, "It is with deep sadness that IIT Kharagpur condoles the untimely demise of Md Asif Qamar, a third-year undergraduate student in the Department of Civil Engineering, around 2:53am on May 4."
"A call came to the security emergency number from an external source that Md Asif Qamar committed self-harm. The security response team rushed immediately to the Pt MMM Hall of Residence (Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hall) where the student was found dead in his room," it further said.
Police have initiated an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the student's death. The institute is fully cooperating with the authorities, the statement added.
"We are committed to providing them with unwavering support and assistance during this challenging time. We strongly encourage all students to take advantage of the 'well-being support services' available at the institute," an institute spokesperson added.