• Source:JND
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In a tragic incident, a fourth-year B Tech student at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur was found hanging in his hostel room on the campus on Friday. This marks the fourth incident of unnatural death at the campus since January this year.

The deceased has been identified as Ritam Mondal (21), a student of mechanical engineering who belonged to Kolkata. His body was found hanging in a room at Rajendra Prasad (RP) Hall hostel building, an institute official said.

One of his hostel mates said that he went to his room after dinner on Thursday night, and there was no abnormality in his behaviour. Reacting to the incident, the IIT KGP official said that after repeated knocks on his door did not evoke any response in the morning, police personnel stationed at the outpost on the campus, accompanied by institute security guards, broke open the door and found him hanging.

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The institute has lodged an FIR and the further investigations are underway. The officials added that the student's family has been informed. In a statement, the IIT Kharagpur said, "With deep sorrow, we regret to inform of the untimely demise of Ritam Mondal (Roll No 22ME3FP60), a fourth-year undergraduate student of the Department of Mechanical Engineering."

Mentioning the sequence of events, the statement said, "Mondal was found dead in his room at Rajendra Prasad Hall of Residence on the morning of July 18. Upon receiving the information, the institute's security response team acted swiftly and reached the hostel premises. Then, the institute's medical team, the Director, senior administrative officials, and local police authorities arrived. Immediate communication was also made with Mondal's family."

Mondal recently returned to the campus after a long summer vacation. "Mondal had resumed his classes. As per the records reviewed from the Institute's SARTH Counselling Centre, there were no prior indicators of mental health concerns. The faculty advisor from the department also mentioned that there were no apparent academic and non-academic issues that caught their attention. The administration has initiated the process of filing an FIR and the needful action as per law," the statement added.

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Earlier such cases this year

On January 12, a third-year electrical engineering student named Shaon Malik was found hanging in his hostel room. Similarly, on April 20, a final-year student of Ocean Engineering named Aniket Walker was found dead. Furthermore, on May 4, a third-year B-Tech student named Mohammad Asif Qamar was also found dead in his hostel room.

(With PTI Inputs)

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