Meanwhile, a final-year engineering student at IIIT Idupulapaya in Andhra Pradesh also died by suicide in her hostel room.
Classes were suspended at IIT Madras on Tuesday after the incidents and subsequent student protests. (Wikimedia Commons)
A second-year research student in the Electrical Engineering Department at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chennai — often referred to as IIT Madras — was found dead in his hostel room on campus on Monday, 13 February.
According to the police, the student, identified as Steven Sunny, hailed from Maharashtra. He was staying in a single-occupancy room at the Mahanadhi hostel on campus.
On Monday, some of his friends who went in search of him discovered that his room door was locked from the inside, and that there was no response from him.
The hostel security was informed and the door was broken down and the student’s body was found.
When informed, the Kotturpuram police arrived. They sent the body of the deceased for a post-mortem examination, and registered a case in this regard under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Police sources said that a suicide note was found.
Later in the day, an unconnected suicide attempt was reported at the same varsity. This student was immediately admitted to a private hospital in Chennai for treatment.
Riled up by both incidents, a few students staged a protest inside the campus.
Speaking to South First on the condition of anonymity, a student said that both incidents were not brought to the notice of student representatives and that the IIT management handed the body of the deceased over to the police in haste.
They claimed that the IIT management was very cautious in keeping the incidents under wraps.
Students participated in a sit-in protest from Monday night to Tuesday morning.
Later, the director of the institute, Kamakoti V, pacified the students and assured them of necessary redressal.
Classes were suspended on Tuesday following the incidents and the protests.
The institute put out a statement on Tuesday afternoon that stated, “It is with deep shock and agony that IIT Madras conveys the tragic and untimely passing away of a second-year MS Research Scholar of Electrical Engineering department on 13 February.”
The statement further read, “The institute expresses its sincere condolences and stands united in grief along with the friends and family of the deceased student. The institute endeavours and assures 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 parents of the student have arrived in Chennai and we request everyone to please respect the privacy of the family at this unfortunate time. May the departed soul rest in peace,” the institute said.
With tragedy crossing state borders, a final-year engineering student of Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (also known as IIIT Idupulapaya) at Idupulapaya in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, died by suicide in her hostel room.
She was found in the Electronics Engineering Department hostel building on Monday.
The deceased was identified as Mangera Akhila (21) of Sibyala village, Rayachoti mandal, Annamayya district.
IIIT Idupulapaya Director K Sandhya Rani said that the girl’s parents were daily-wage labourers working in Kuwait.
While the reasons for suicide are yet to be ascertained, it was learnt that Akhila was upset as her parents rejected her proposal to marry a boy who is a relative.
It is believed that she was also upset over her poor performance in academics. The Vempalli police have registered a case and are investigating the incident.
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