Third-year student found hanging in IIT Kharagpur hostel room

Kolkata: A third-year BTech student of IIT Kharagpur was found hanging in his hostel room on Sunday, an official said.

The body of Mohammad Asif Qamar was found hanging in his hostel room in Madanmohan Malviya Hall in IIT Kharagpur campus, the official said.

The institute in a statement said, "It is with deep sadness that the IIT Kharagpur condoles the untimely demise of Md Asif Qamar a third year under graduate student in the department of civil engineering at around 2:53 am on May 4."

The statement said "A call came at the security emergency number from an external source that Md Asif Qamar has committed self-harm. The security response team rushed immediately to the Pt M M M Hall of Residence (Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hall) where the student was found dead in his room."

"The team of doctors, administration and police also reached the spot. The family of Qamar has also been contacted about the incident," it said.

An investigation is currently underway by the police to determine the circumstances surrounding this tragic event. And the institute is fully cooperating with the authorities, the statement added.

Cops from the police outpost on the campus were informed and they broke open the door to find him hanging, an institute official had said earlier. Qamar was from Seohar district in Bihar and was expected to visit home on Sunday.

A senior police officer confirmed the death. He said the police have got some leads and the investigation was proceeding on that.

He said prima facie it was a case of suicide but investigations were on.

He did not elaborate if there was any phone call from outside alerting about the condition of Qamar.

The institute further said, "IIT Kharagpur community stands united in mourning the tragic loss of our student Qamar. We offer our deepest condolence to his family and friends."

"We are committed to providing them with unwavering support and assistance during this challenging time. We strongly encourage all students to take advantage of the 'well being support services' available at the institute," an institute spokesperson added.

On April 20 Aniket Walkar, a fourth-year student in the Department of Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture, was found hanging in his hostel room.

On January 12, the body of a third-year undergraduate student Shaon Malik was found in his hostel room.

In June 2024, Devika Pillai, a fourth-year student of biotechnology and biochemical engineering had died by suicide.

IIT Kharagpur authorities said the institute has counsellors 24×7 hours to help students fight any stress and depression. After April 20, the institute put up barcodes on the door of every boarder which can be scanned by any boarder during moments of acute mental stress for immediate counselling in privacy.

"A committee is being formed to explore the circumstances and reason behind such tragedies and the committee will make its recommendations in three days," Acting Director Amit Patra had told PTI earlier.

"The well-being, happiness and academic success of our students matter to us. They are our children," he had said.