Lucknow: A 31-year-old MTech second-year student of IIT-Kanpur died by suicide on the institute’s campus late on Wednesday. The student was found hanging in his hostel room at night. He was brought down and rushed to the city’s Lala Lajpat Rai hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Vikas Kumar Meena, a native of Meerut, had taken admission in the MTech course in aerospace engineering at IIT-Kanpur in 2021.
Kalyanpur ACP Abhishek Kumar Pandey said that the institute’s chief security officer informed police around 9 pm on Wednesday. Pandey said that the student’s parents had been informed and that the body had been shifted to the mortuary for autopsy.
Police commissioner Akhil Kumar said, “We met IIT-K director Professor S. Ganesh, who is conducting a primary probe into the reasons for the student’s suicide. A suicide note has been released by his friends. We are looking into its authenticity. After the postmortem report, we will continue our investigation.”
Additional DCP (ADCP) West, Akash Patel, said a primary investigation has confirmed that Meena was academically weak and got an ‘X’ (symbol indicating unsatisfactory) four times which resulted in his termination.
However, as the student was terminated on academic grounds, he had the option to appeal before the IIT senate so that his reinstatement could be considered, Patel said, adding that Meena did not make an appeal.
Students who get an X thrice have to face temporary termination as “such students get a chance to appeal to get reinstated within days”, he said.
“A forensic team has taken stock of the matter. The institute is awaiting further investigation by police to determine the likely cause of death,” the statement issued by IIT-Kanpur said.
During interrogation, other students staying in the hostel told police that on the day of the incident, they found Meena’s room locked from the inside and he did not respond to their repeated calls, Patel said.
Once the hostel authorities were informed, the door was broken open and Meena was found hanging from the ceiling fan, the ADCP said.
