Research scholar at IIT-ISM Dhanbad commits suicide

The body of Ranjan Rathi was found hanging in his hostel room located on the institute premises on Friday morning.

A research scholar at the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room, officials said.

Ranjan Rathi was pursuing his doctorate in mechanical engineering at IIT-ISM in Dhanbad. (Stock image/Representative photo)

The body of Ranjan Rathi, son of Udaybhan Singh Rathi and resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad, was found hanging in his hostel room located on the institute premises on Friday morning.

Rathi was pursuing his doctorate in mechanical engineering after completing M.Tech from the same institute.

According to the information available, the body was found after his roommate, who is a resident of Ranchi, tried to contact him on phone in the morning. But when he failed to get any response, he called another friend to check the whereabouts of Rathi.

When his roommate’s friend knocked at the door without any reply, one of the hostel guards peered into the room from a ventilator and found Rathi hanging from the room ceiling. The students immediately informed the IIT-ISM officials, who called police which took the body for autopsy.

“It’s shocking that a meritorious student committed suicide. However, the reason for act is not known. A committee would hold inquiry into the reasons behind the incident,” said IIT-ISM director Rajeev Shekhar.

Rathi’s parents have been informed and his father was on his way to Dhanbad.

In another incident, three final year students of IIT-ISM were held on Thursday night on charges of misbehaving with girls near City centre. However, sources said they were released by police after taking an undertaking from them on the request of the IIT-ISM management.