On Thursday, two students of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru died within 24 hours on the campus. While one, Randhir Kumar, died by suicide, the other student Rahul Pratap Singh died after he collapsed while playing football. Though the institution said that Rahul Singh received first aid and was declared dead at the MS Ramaiah hospital, students allege that there were discrepancies in the management’s statement and eyewitness accounts.
Rahul Singh, who was pursuing his MTech degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, suddenly collapsed while playing football on the campus grounds on the evening of March 2. While the IISc management’s statement said that he received first aid at the institution’s medical centre, eyewitnesses allege that he was not given proper medical attention there or in the institution’s ambulance. A notice issued by students, who were present at the time of the incident, said that precious time was wasted in waiting for the ambulance to be called, and once it arrived, it reportedly did not have the required equipment or even a doctor on board.
Further, students reported that the medical staff at the health centre were not able to provide help either, and ordered for Rahul Singh to be taken to MS Ramaiah Hospital, which is some distance away. Rahul was reported brought dead to the hospital. In their notice, the students quoted a doctor of the hospital as saying, “Had he received medical attention in the first 15 crucial minutes, he could have been saved.” The following day, the postmortem report revealed that the student had died of a ‘sudden cardiac arrest’.
“We are not blaming anyone. We just want to highlight the gaps in our emergency preparedness. We expect IISc health facilities to be better, which will save lives in the future. IISc, being one of the finest research institutes, better medical facilities are a must. What happened with Rahul should not happen to anybody else,” the students wrote.
Following Rahul’s death, the Registrar of IISc issued a notice with changes to be implemented to avoid further unfortunate incidents. These include doctors being present at the health centre through the night and directions that the ambulance driver on duty must take the patient to the nearest hospital without delay.
The management of IISc has organised a condolence meeting for Rahul Singh on March 5. However, a section of the students has boycotted the event until the management issues clarifications on why they hid the details of alleged medical negligence and urged other students to boycott the event as well.
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide-prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.
Tamil Nadu
State health department's suicide helpline: 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)
Andhra Pradesh
Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930
Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584
Karnataka
Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222
Kerala
Maithri: 0484 2540530
Chaithram: 0484 2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Telangana
State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104
Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200
SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm)
Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.
24x7 Helpline: 9820466726, Click here for working helplines across India.