IIT Madras student dies by suicide, second incident in one month
A BTech student at IIT Madras died by suicide in his hostel room on Tuesday, March 14. The deceased person has been identified as Vaipu Pushpak Sri Sai (23) and was a third-year Electrical Engineering student from Andhra Pradesh. He was staying at the Alakananda hostel. According to reports, his friends went to check on him on Tuesday afternoon since he had not come out of his room since morning. When they opened his door, Pushpak’s friends found him dead. The Kotturpuram police retrieved his body and sent it for a post-mortem at the Royapettah government hospital. The police are investigating the reason behind his suicide.
In a statement, IIT Madras said, “Post COVID-19 has been a challenging environment and the Institute has been endeavouring to improve and sustain the well-being of the students/scholars, faculty and staff on campus while constantly evaluating the various support systems in place.” The institute also said that an Internal Inquiry Committee, which comprises elected student representatives as well, has been constituted recently and stated that this committee will look into the recent suicides. The statement further said that the student’s parents have been informed and requested everyone to respect the family’s privacy.
This is the second case of suicide in the past month at IIT Madras. On February 13, a second-year research scholar in the Electrical Engineering department was found dead in his room. The deceased student was identified as Steven and hailed from Maharashtra. He was found dead in the Sindhu Hostel inside the campus. Another student also attempted suicide on the same day but was saved. He was from Karnataka and was admitted to the Apollo Hospital. Students conducted a protest on the campus from midnight to 7 am the next morning. They made several demands to the management including the strengthening of mental health support systems in the institute.
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.