PhD student from Jharkhand dies at IIT Kanpur, 3rd suicide in 5 weeks

Police said the PhD student’s father called up the hostel manager to inquire about his daughter since she hadn’t answered any phone calls since yesterday

Kanpur: A 26-year-old research scholar at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, (IIT Kanpur) was found dead in her hostel room on the campus on Thursday, the third student at the institute to be suspected to have died by suicide in the last five weeks.

The PhD student who died had joined IIT-Kanpur on December 29, 2023 (FILE PHOTO)

The IIT administration informed the police about the death of a student, who was pursuing a PhD course in the chemical engineering department, said assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Abhishek Pandey.

A forensic team has reached the institute, he added.

Police said the student from Jharkhand’s Dumka district joined the institute just 20 days ago to pursue her doctorate.

Police said the research scholar’s father called up the hostel manager, saying she hadn’t been answering her phone since Wednesday. Her room was locked from inside and she was found hanging.

She is the third student to die by suicide on the campus in the last five weeks.

A research school enrolled in the biosciences and bioengineering department died by suicide on December 12 within a week of shifting to the institute’s accommodation. On January 10, another student enrolled for the masters programme at the aerospace engineering department, was found dead in his hostel room.

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