A 20-year-old engineering student was found hanging inside his hostel room at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal on Wednesday.
Kaushik was a native of West Bengal and a third-year computer science engineering student. He was apparently undergoing treatment for depression and had just returned to the college campus on Monday.
A pall of gloom descended among students, staff and teachers at the university after news of the student's death spread on campus. In the absence of a suicide note, the college management said that that they are unsure about the exact reason for the student to take the extreme step, but police suspect that Kaushik took his life after being depressed over his poor academic performance.
According to the deceased’s father Biplab Pandey, Kaushik was on medication for depression for a while and the former had dropped him in the campus only on Monday. Biplab did not return home but was staying at a nearby lodge in Hanamkonda.
On Wednesday, despite calling Kaushik multiple times on his phone, Biplab didn’t receive any response. He then rushed to the college and informed the authorities.
The hostel officials knocked on Kaushik’s door, but to no avail. When they looked inside the room through the window, they saw Kaushik hanging from the ceiling.
Kaushik was performing well in the first year of college but eventually his grades dropped in the second and third years, officials at NIT-Warangal told The New Indian Express.
"Kaushik was at the top of his class in the first year but his performance severely deteriorated in the last two years. We think his father came with him to inquire into his poor performance, upsetting him even more,” they said.
According to reports, Kaushik’s body was shifted to the MGM hospital for post-mortem. Officials said the institute is making arrangements for sending the body to his hometown.
It was only last month that a student at IIT-Hyderabad killed himself, being dejected over his academic performance. He had left behind a suicide note where he apologised for his poor grades and said he was depressed.
On January 31 this year, in another similar incident, a final year B.Tech student had killed himself by jumping off the hostel building.
If you or anyone you know is feeling depressed or suicidal, consider reaching out to one of the following helplines:
Telangana government suicide prevention toll free number - 104
Roshni- 040-66202000, 66202001
SEVA- 09441778290, 040 - 27504682 (between 9 AM and 7 PM)