Kanpur (UP), Oct 2 (PTI) A student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here was found dead in his hostel room, after other students complained about a foul smell, police said on Thursday.
Dheeraj Saini (22) from Haryana, a final-year B.Tech student of electrical engineering, had not stepped out of his room number 123 at Hostel-1. Other students alerted authorities about a foul smell emanating from his locked room on Wednesday.
A police team broke open the door and found Saini's body hanging from the ceiling fan with a rope, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kalyanpur) Ranjeet Kumar said.
No suicide note was found, police said.
Saini had told his sister only a few days ago that he would visit home in December.
The body was sent to the mortuary. The ACP told PTI that the cause of the student's death would be confirmed after the post-mortem examination.
"If any complaint is lodged, further probe will be conducted," the officer said.
The father of the deceased, Satish Saini, who runs a sweet shop, broke down on hearing the news.
{{/usCountry}}The father of the deceased, Satish Saini, who runs a sweet shop, broke down on hearing the news.
{{/usCountry}}"IIT-K has swallowed my son.... I cannot explain how hard I worked to educate him," Saini told police.
He said the deceased told his elder sister only a few days ago that he would visit home in December and expected to secure a job through campus placement by March.
According to Saini's hostel-mates, he was quiet and kept to himself. They had assumed that he was away on leave given the ongoing holidays and not checked on him until the foul smell started coming out of his room.
According to a communique issued by the IIT, Saini was an active and promising student and also a dedicated member of the institute's athletics team. The reason leading to his death "remains uncertain at this stage", the communique said.
The premier engineering institute said it is "actively cooperating" with police and the forensic team in the ongoing investigation.
"The institute has expressed its commitment to taking all necessary steps to prevent such unfortunate incidents in the future. At this hour of grief, the institute condoles the untimely demise of an outstanding student and athlete, and prays for strength to the bereaved family," it added.