IIT-Madras PhD student dies by suicide, third case this year

Velachery: A PhD student of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, died by suicide in his room in Tamil Nadu's Velachery, police said on Sunday.

The deceased student was a native of West Bengal and aged 32 years. This is the third incident of suicide reported from IIT Madras this year and the 11th case since 2018.

"On March 31, the deceased student posted a WhatsApp status 'I am sorry not good Enough'. Seeing the status, his friends reached his home and found Sachin hanging in his room. An ambulance was called and he was pronounced dead on examination. Further investigation is underway," police said.

The police have taken the body into custody and sent it to Royapet Government Hospital for autopsy.

IIT Madras has issued a statement expressing condolence over the death.

"We are deeply anguished to convey the untimely passing away of a PhD Research scholar from the Mechanical Engineering Department on the afternoon of 31st March 2023 at his residence at Velachery, Chennai. A student with an exemplary academic and research record is a big loss to the research community," the IIT said.

"The Institute expresses its heartfelt condolences and shares the grief of the friends and family of the deceased student. The Institute requests everyone respect the privacy of the student's family at this difficult juncture. May the departed soul rest in peace", it added.

Earlier on March 14, a third-year BTech student died by suicide (hanging) at the Madras IIT Campus. The deceased was identified as Vaipu Pushpak Sree Sai (20), a native of Andhra Pradesh.

Kotturpuram Police registered a case on the matter and further investigation is still underway.

While on February 14, a research scholar from Maharashtra hanged himself in a room inside the IIT campus.