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28-year-old PhD student found dead at IIT Kanpur, suicide suspected: Report
Pragati Kharya, a PhD student in Earth Sciences from Kanpur's Sanigawan, allegedly took her own life in her hostel.
A 28-year-old PhD student at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) was found hanging from a ceiling hook in an apparent suicide on Thursday, news agency PTI reported, citing police sources. This marks the fourth suicide case at the institution within the past year.
The woman's body has been sent to the mortuary for a post-mortem examination. Family members have also arrived at IIT-K, according to police.
What happened?
According to the PTI report, Pragati Kharya, a PhD student in Earth Sciences from Kanpur's Sanigawan, allegedly took her own life in her hostel room (D-116) at hall number 4 during the intervening night, with the incident coming to light on Thursday afternoon.
Her hostel mates informed the institute authorities, who subsequently notified the police. In an official statement, IIT Kanpur expressed condolences over Kharya's tragic and untimely death. According to the statement, Kharya had enrolled in the PhD program in December 2021.
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“A police forensic team has visited the campus to investigate the circumstances of the death. The Institute is awaiting the results of the police investigation to determine the cause. With Pragati Kharya's passing, the institute has lost a promising young researcher. The institute extends its deepest condolences and prays for strength and comfort to her family and friends in this time of great loss,” the IIT said.
"The police received information about a suicide by a PhD student at around 12 pm today," Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Rajesh Kumar Singh told PTI.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kalyanpur) Abhishek Pandey was quoted as saying, “After receiving information about the suicide, police quickly arrived at the scene and found that the door of Pragati's room was locked from the inside.”
He added, “After forcing the door open, they discovered the woman's body hanging from the ceiling fan.” The police further mentioned that a forensic team was called in to collect evidence.
The ACP also said that a suicide note was found in which she did not blame anyone for her drastic decision.
A mobile phone was also retrieved from the hostel room, which may assist the police in unravelling the mystery surrounding the suicide, the PTI report added.
The ACP further explained that the possible motives for the suicide will only become clear after an initial investigation and the completion of other formalities.
Previous suicide cases in IIT Kanpur
On January 18, a 29-year-old PhD student, Priyanka Jaiswal, who was studying Chemical Engineering, reportedly took her own life inside her locked hostel room. Just a week earlier, on January 11, a 31-year-old M.Tech second-year student, Vikas Kumar Meena, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his IIT Kanpur hostel room, allegedly after being “temporarily” suspended from his course. Additionally, on December 19, a 34-year-old postdoctoral researcher, Pallavi Chilka, was discovered hanging from the ceiling fan in her second-floor hostel room on campus.
(Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).)
