An undergraduate student at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras reportedly died by suicide inside his hostel room on Friday, the fourth such case in the institute since February, reported the Hindustan Times.
The police said they have filed a first information report in the case, adding that they have recovered a suicide note. An investigating officer told NDTV that the student would often tell his friends that no one had time for him.
“In the previous three cases too, the students have left behind suicide notes,” an investigating officer told the Hindustan Times.
This is the fourth instance of suspected suicide by a student at IIT-Madras this year and the 11th case since 2018. On March 31, research scholar Sachin Kumar Jain had died after updating his WhatsApp update as: “I am sorry, not good. Enough”.
On March 14, a third-year student at the institute had died by suicide. On February 13, a second-year postgraduate student in the Electrical Engineering department was found dead in his room.
On Friday, IIT-Madras said in a statement that it was anguished to share that the student passed away in the afternoon in his hostel room.
“The Institute has lost one of its own, and the professional community has lost a good student… Police are investigating,” it said. “The parents have been informed. IIT Madras is taking all possible measures to proactively identify and help students under stress. We will continue to keep strengthening these measures.”
The incident came a day after IIT-M director V Kamakoti said that the institute has launched a happiness website and is conducting wellness sessions for students.
“As we rebooted our campus after Covid-19, we are challenged with an unprecedented number of unfortunate events,” Kamakoti had said at IIT-Madras’ 64th institute day.
Meanwhile, several IIT alumni have told The Telegraph that the institute should formulate a system to monitor students, especially those depressed or stressed, and have accused the education ministry of failing to do enough.
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