Madras: Following the two suicides in a month at the Indian Institute of Technology here, an inquiry committee has been formed to look into such incidents, the IIT-Madras said on Wednesday. "A standing Institute Internal Inquiry Committee, including elected student representatives, which has been recently constituted will look into such incidents," the IIT said in an official statement.
Post-Covid has been a challenging environment and the institute has been endeavouring to improve and sustain the well-being of the students/scholars, faculty and staff on campus while constantly evaluating the various support systems in place, the statement said. On Tuesday, 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.
"It is with deep anguish that IIT Madras conveys the untimely passing away of a third-year BTech student of the Electrical Engineering department on March 14," it said. The parents of the student have been informed and "we request everyone to please respect the privacy of the family at this unfortunate moment," the release said.
"The Institute expresses its sincere condolences and stands united in grief along with the friends and family of the deceased student. May the departed soul rest in peace," it added. Meanwhile, Kotturpuram Police has registered a case on the suicide and sent the body to Royapet Government Hospital for autopsy.
According to the police, "Pushpak didn't attend yesterday's classes during the afternoon. His friends got suspicious and checked into his room. The room was locked from inside." As there was no response to their repeated knocks, the students informed the hostel authorities, who broke open the door and found Sree Sai hanging from the ceiling, police said.
"We are investigating this matter and further details are awaited," they said. This is the second such incident in a month. Earlier on February 14, Sunny, a research scholar from Maharashtra hanged himself in a room inside the IIT campus. (ANI)
