Another student found dead at IIT Kharagpur in West Bengal; suicide suspected

Kolkata, Sep 20 (IANS) The death of another student allegedly by committing suicide was reported at IIT Kharagpur in West Bengal on Saturday, police said.

The body of a researcher student was recovered from the B.R. Ambedkar Hall at IIT Kharagpur.

The police of Hijli outpost under Kharagpur Town police station recovered the body.

According to police sources, the name of the deceased is Harsh Kumar Pandey (24).

He was pursuing PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the institute.

He hailed from Jharkhand.

The police have started an investigation into the matter, trying to ascertain how it happened and what is the reason behind it.

"A hanging body of a student was recovered from the institute. It has been sent for an autopsy. Prima facie it looks like a case of suicide. But the cause of death will only be ascertained after we get the autopsy report and whether any foul play was involved," a senior officer of Kharagpur Town police said.

The family members of the student have been informed about the tragic death.

According to sources, the institute will soon issue a statement in this regard.

This is the sixth death reported from IIT Kharagpur this year, a premier institute of excellence in the country.

Out of the six, five were found hanging.

In January, a third-year student of electrical engineering, Shaon Malik died in an apparent death by suicide.

In April, a final-year student of Ocean Engineering, Aniket Walker, was found dead in similar conditions.

In May, 22-year-old third-year civil engineering student named Mohammad Asif Qamar, was found hanging.

In July, a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering student named Ritam Mondal (21) was found hanging in his hostel room. He was a resident of Regent Park in south Kolkata.

In the same month, Chandradeep Pawar, a 19-year-old Electrical Engineering student, had choked on a normal cough and cold tablet he tried to gulp after dinner in the Nehru Hall mess.

This was only instance in the last five deaths which was not a suicide case.

--IANS

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