PhD scholar jumps to death on IIT-Kanpur campus
What's the story
A PhD scholar at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, died on Tuesday after he allegedly jumped from the sixth floor of a residential building. The victim has been identified as Ramswroop Ishram, a research scholar in Earth Sciences. This incident marks the third suicide at the institution in four months, per the Indian Express.
Investigation update
Preliminary investigation points to suicide, no foul play suspected
Preliminary investigations indicate that Ishram's death was a suicide. There were no signs of foul play, as several people were present on campus during the incident. Forensic experts have been called in to gather evidence from the scene. The victim had been living with his wife and three-year-old daughter in a room at the New SBRA residential building on campus.
Mental health
Victim struggled with depression, underwent recent counseling
Ishram was reportedly battling depression and had undergone counseling sessions recently. Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) SM Qasim Abidi confirmed that the victim had been depressed for a long time and had been counseled multiple times. His family in Rajasthan has also been informed about the tragic incident. The body of the deceased has been sent for a post-mortem examination, which is likely to be conducted on Wednesday.
Past cases
Previous suicide incidents at IIT-Kanpur
The incident comes just less than a month after another suicide at the institute. On December 29, a final-year BTech student Jai Singh Meena (26) was found hanging in his hostel room with a suicide note. No suicide note was recovered from the room; however, the words "Sorry Everyone" were found written in Meena's notebook The deceased was also from Rajasthan.