NEW DELHI: Tragedy struck IIT Kharagpur once again as a 21-year-old B.Tech student was found hanging in his hostel room — marking the fourth student death by suicide on campus within a year.
The student, Ritam Mondal, a fourth-year mechanical engineering undergraduate from Kolkata, was discovered dead on Friday, July 18, inside his room at Rajendra Prasad (RP) Hall, according to institute officials.
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How the Incident Unfolded
Ritam had returned to campus after summer vacation and resumed regular academic activities. On Thursday night, he reportedly had dinner and returned to his room as usual, with no unusual behavior noted by hostel mates.
However, when he did not respond to knocks on Friday morning, security personnel and local police broke open the door — only to find him hanging inside.
The institute informed his family and confirmed that an FIR has been filed, adding that it is fully cooperating with police investigations.
No Prior Warning Signs, Says IIT Kharagpur
In a statement, IIT Kharagpur clarified that Ritam had not shown any signs of mental health distress.
“There were no prior indicators of mental health concerns as per records from the SARTH Counselling Centre. The faculty advisor also reported no noticeable academic or personal issues,” the statement read.
The administration has constituted a fact-finding committee to probe the circumstances surrounding the death.
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String of Suicides at IIT Kharagpur
Ritam Mondal’s death adds to a grim list of suicides at the institute over the past year:
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May 2025: Mohammed Asif Qamar, a third-year civil engineering student, was found dead in his hostel room. He had reportedly been on a video call moments before the incident.
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April 2025: Aniket Walkar, a fourth-year student of ocean engineering and naval architecture, died by suicide in his hostel.
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January 2025: Shaon Malik, a third-year undergraduate student, was found dead in his room.
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June 2024: Devika Pillai, a fourth-year biotechnology and biochemical engineering student, also died by suicide on campus.
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These repeated tragedies have raised serious concerns over student well-being and mental health support at one of India’s premier engineering institutes.
The campus community remains in shock, mourning yet another young life lost.
