• Source:JND
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In a suspected case of suicide, the body of a researcher at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur was found hanging inside his hostel room in the BR Ambedkar Hall on Saturday. This is the fifth case of suspected suicide at the institute this year.

The body was recovered at around 2 PM by the Hijli outpost police under the Kharagpur Town Police area. The deceased has been identified as 27-year-old Harshkumar Pandey, hailing from Jharkhand.

Pandey was a PhD fellow in the Mechanical Engineering Department. The police have launched an investigation into the incident to determine how it occurred and the reason, if it is a suicide.

The body was recovered after the victim's father failed to reach him on the phone and contacted the security personnel at IIT Kharagpur.

The security personnel went to check on him and found the room was locked. They immediately informed the Hijli police, who recovered the body.

Reacting to the incident, IIT Kharagpur spokesperson said, "His parents could not reach him on the phone, and the door of his room was locked from the inside. Subsequently, police were informed, and they broke into the room to find his body hanging from the ceiling".

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Later, the body was sent to the BC Roy Hospital at IIT Kharagpur, where doctors confirmed him dead. The police have sent Pandey's body for autopsy to ascertain the cause of the death.

Unnatural deaths this year

This year, the campus has witnessed six cases of unnatural deaths. Among these cases, five bodies were found hanging. 

On January 12, 21-year-old electrical engineering student Shaon Malik was found hanging, marking the first case of suicide on the campus. The second such incident took place on April 20, when the body of Aniket Walkar, a student of the dual degree programme from the Department of Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture, was found hanging inside his hostel room.

On May 4, 3rd‑year Civil Engineering student Mohammad Asif Qamar was also found hanging in his hostel room (Madan Mohan Malviya Hall). He was on a video call when he took extreme measures.

The last such case was on July 19, when a 4th‑year Mechanical Engineering / Dual Degree student, Ritam Mondal, was found hanging in his hostel room (Rajendra Prasad Hall).

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Apart from these cases, a student died after choking on a pill on July 21. Chandradip Pawar, who hailed from Madhya Pradesh, was a second-year student of Electrical Engineering and had taken a prescribed pill for a cold and cough.

(With PTI Inputs)