KOLKATA/KHARAGPUR: A fourth-year undergraduate student was found hanging in his room at IIT-Kharagpur’s JC Bose Hall of Residence on Sunday evening.
Aniket Walkar, 22, who hailed from Gondia district in Maharashtra, was pursuing a dual degree programme from the Department of Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture. His end-semester examination was scheduled to begin on Monday.
This is the second death of a student this semester on Kharagpur campus and the third in less than a year, following the deaths of 21-year-old electrical engineering student Shaon Malik on Jan 12 and third-year biotechnology student Devika Pillai in June.
Poll
Is academic pressure a significant issue for students in your opinion?
IIT-Kharagpur authorities mourned the death of a “young bright student” and rescheduled Monday’s exam to April 26 in view of the “unfortunate incident”. Acting director Amit Patra, said, “He was a good student and had bagged an internship too. It is a tremendous loss for the institute. The student’s mental health issues were identified, and an effort was made to address it, but unfortunately, it did not bear fruit.”
Aniket’s friends and classmates, who said he was “full of potential”, were unable to fathom what led him to take such a drastic step. “He was academically sound and a nine-pointer. His on-campus placement was scheduled to start in July but he already had a job offer, probably off-campus, and was extremely happy. He threw a party for friends on Friday. On Saturday, he texted his friends and had a normal chat about the end semester beginning on Monday,” said a student
Campus authorities, cops alerted after Aniket failed to open door, answer classmates’ calls
In an official release, IIT-Kharagpur said the campus community was “devastated with the untimely demise” of the student. “The campus security and medical team were immediately alerted and local cops informed…. An investigation is currently underway by the police to ascertain the circumstances surrounding this tragic event, and the institute is extending full cooperation to the authorities,” it said.
Aniket’s mother, maternal uncle, and elder brother reached the IIT campus on Monday evening and spoke to the cops. The student’s body was shifted to Midnapore Medical College, where a post-mortem will be conducted on Tuesday.
Campus sources said the authorities were alerted and police informed after Aniket did not open the door of his room for a long time and did not answer calls from his classmates and friends. The cops reached the hostel around 8pm on Sunday and broke open the door to find him hanging from the ceiling fan. The body was rushed to BC Roy Hospital, where he was declared dead. The body was later kept at Kharagpur Sub-Divisional Hospital.
A district senior police official stated, “The investigation has begun. The hostel room has been sealed. Although the exact cause of death is still unknown, it is initially believed to be suicide. Primary investigation reveals he was suffering from depression.”
In its official release, IIT-Kharagpur urged students to avail counselling and support services available 24×7 at the institute “should they feel the need” for such support.
