NIT Kurukshetra student dies by suicide; fourth case in two months triggers protests

Kurukshetra: A second-year student at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her hostel room, making it the fourth suspected student suicide case reported on the campus in the last two months.

According to the Adarsh Police Station SHO, Vishal Kumar, the deceased Diksha Dubey, hailed from Bihar and was pursuing BTech in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science.

On Thursday, when Dubey did not respond to the phone calls made by her friends, they reached her room and found the room locked from inside. Upon receiving information, police and forensic teams rushed to the spot at about 3 pm, and the door was broken to find her hanging from the ceiling fan, he said.

The body has been shifted to LNJP Civil Hospital for post-mortem examination.

The SHO said that the exact cause behind the incident is yet to be determined. Further proceedings will depend on the findings of the investigation and statements from the family.

This is the fourth reported suicide at NIT Kurukshetra since February.

The suspected suicides have sparked protests on the campus, with a large number of students gathering late at night to stage a protest at the main gate.

Protesters alleged that the behaviour of certain hostel staff and authorities was not satisfactory and expressed concern over the handling of the situation. They also questioned the response time after the incident came to light.

Although the administration had introduced measures such as mentoring systems, enhanced faculty-student interaction, and counselling services following earlier cases, students feel that more effective steps are needed.

On February 16, Telangana native Angod Shiva (19) was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room. The first-semester student was pursuing a degree in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at the institute. Another student from Nuh died by suicide at NIT Kurukshetra on March 31.

The third suspected suicide was reported on April 8 when Priyanshu Sharma, a native of Haryana's Sirsa, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room. He was a third-year BTech student in the civil engineering department, Officiating Director of National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra, Brahmjit, said that the administration has accepted several demands raised by students, who staged a protest on campus last night following the suicide of a girl student.

Among the key decisions, the institute has agreed to allow re-examinations for re-appear papers on an annual basis, replacing the earlier even-odd semester system.

According to him, students had expressed concerns that under the previous system, pending re-appear papers kept accumulating, leading to increased academic pressure and mental stress, particularly after the fourth semester.

He added that the institute is in the process of developing a mechanism to address student grievances more effectively and ensure that their concerns are resolved at the earliest.