New Delhi: A second-year B. Tech student of IIT-Madras died allegedly by suicide in Tamil Nadu on Friday, news agency ANI reported. The body has been taken for autopsy and preliminary investigation is underway, said Chennai Police officials.
According to reports, this the fourth case of suspected suicide this year.
The deceased, a 20-year-old student in IIT Madras, was staying in Cauvery hostel. His friends on noticing that his room was locked for hours informed the hostel warden who in turn alerted the police. Police broke open the door and found him hanging from a ceiling fan. A case has also been registered by the Kotturpuram police.
This suicide is the fourth such incident in last three months. In view of the recent rise in suicides in the campus, IIT-Madras conducted a wellness session series for its students earlier this week. The programme was launched in a bid to spread awareness on mental health and various options available to students to address and mitigate stress whenever required.
Last month, the body of a PhD research scholar from Mechanical Engineering Department at IIT-Madras was found hanging at his residence at Velachery in Chennai. As per report, the deceased was a 32-year-old research scholar and a native of West Bengal.
As per a report by ANI, on March 31, the student had posted a WhatsApp status reading 'I am sorry not good Enough'. Seeing the status, his friends reached his home and found him hanging in his room. An ambulance was called and he was declared dead on examination.
In a similar case on March 14, a third-year BTech student died by suicide at the Madras IIT Campus. The deceased was a native of Andhra Pradesh.
In another case, a research scholar from Maharashtra hanged himself in a room inside the IIT campus on February 14.