The 11th suicide-related death at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in the past five years came to light when the dead body of a research scholar was discovered at his house in Chennai, on Friday. He was identified as Sachin Kumar Jain (32), a native of West Bengal and a PhD student of mechanical engineering at the institution. The former was found hanging in the leased flat he shared with two other researchers, Devkush and Deveraj, both 28 years old.
Police stated, “On March 31, the deceased student posted a WhatsApp status ‘I am sorry not good Enough’. Seeing the status, his friends reached home and found Sachin hanging in his room. An ambulance was called and he was pronounced dead on examination. Further investigation is underway.”
The body was taken into custody by the Velachery police and transported for an autopsy at Royapet Government Hospital. Police also registered a case under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Police stated that no suicide note was obtained. His cell phone has been sent for in-depth analysis. “We are looking probing whether the faculty was pressuring him. We also looked into his housemates and friends,” they proclaimed. The dead body was handed over to his parents on Saturday, 1 April.
IIT Madras said, “We are deeply anguished to convey the untimely passing away of a PhD research scholar from the mechanical engineering department on the afternoon of 31st March 2023 at his residence at Velachery, Chennai,” in a statement.
“A student with exemplary academic and research record, it is a big loss to the research community. The institute expresses its heartfelt condolences and shares the grief of the friends and family of the deceased student. The institute requests everyone to respect the privacy of the student’s family at this difficult juncture. May the departed soul rest in peace,” it read.
Three suicides in two months
This is the third instance of suicide by a student at IIT Madras this year. On March 13, Vaipu Pushpak Sree Sai (20), a third-year BTech student and native of Andhra Pradesh, died by suicide. He belonged to the Other Backward Class (OBC) community. There was no suicide left behind.
The eyewitness claimed that on Tuesday afternoon, a few students passing by the hostel corridor spotted him in his room and promptly informed the hostel staff. The institution’s management had announced that such instances will be investigated by a freshly established Institute Internal Inquiry Committee that comprised elected student representatives.
An investigation revealed that the student had failed to pass the exams in multiple disciplines.
Stephen Sunny Alappat (24), a second-year MS research student in the Electrical Engineering Department was found dead in his hostel room on campus on 13 February. The police recovered a note which read ‘don’t prosecute.’ He hailed from Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra and died by hanging himself in his dormitory room.
He was residing alone in a room in the Mahanadhi dorm on campus. 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. His body was found after the hostel security was notified and the door was smashed down.
The deceased’s body was submitted for a post-mortem examination by Kotturpuram police, who filed a case under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in this regard.
Later in the day, another suicide attempt was reported at the same varsity. The student was immediately admitted to a private hospital in Chennai for treatment.
To protest the insensitive treatment of a student’s suicide and another attempt at the same, the students organised a nightlong demonstration on campus. The protest compelled management to postpone lectures for a day, and the IIT-Madras director personally addressed the students and promised to take action.
MoS for Education’s statement in the Parliament
33 students have committed suicide across IITs since 2018, according to Dr Subhas Sarkar, the minister of state for education, who addressed the Lok Sabha on Monday. In a written response, he stated that “The reasons identified behind such suicides include academic stress, family reasons, personal reasons, mental health issues, etc.”
The minister noted that following the Covid epidemic, the government’s Manodarpan initiative offered psychological assistance to children, teachers, and families for their mental and emotional well-being.
“Besides this, students’ specialised psychological counselling helplines, students’ wellness centres, buddy-support system and various other measures have been implemented in IITs and other institutions for early detection of cases of psychological stress,” he observed.
Concern has been raised by the death of Sachin Kumar Jain among students and academics as suicides at prestigious tech schools, particularly IIT Madras, are on the rise.