The IIT-Kharagpur campus was shaken by the tragic news of a 21-year-old third-year biotechnology student, Devika Pillai, who was found hanging from the roof of the Sarojini Naidu and Indira Gandhi Hall on Monday morning.
Around 7 am, other students discovered Pillai’s body hanging from the roof of the two-storey building and immediately notified campus security and medical teams.
Hailing from Kerala, Pillai was reportedly undergoing treatment for depression and mental health issues, according to sources. This incident marks the third student death on the IIT-Kharagpur campus since 2022. Previously, Mechanical Engineering Student, Faizan Ahmed died in October 2022, with the initial suicide claim later contested by his parents, leading to a special investigation team probe. In October 2023, Electrical Engineering Student, K Kiran Chandra also died by suicide on campus.
On Monday, students questioned how Pillai, who resided in A Block, managed to access the B-Block roof, especially since students are generally prohibited from accessing hostel roofs.
IIT Kharagpur expressed its devastation over the tragedy in an official statement. “The police and her family have been informed. A thorough investigation into the circumstances of Pillai’s death is being conducted, and the institute is fully cooperating,” the statement read. Officials conducted a postmortem examination on Monday evening. Preliminary investigations suggest a suicide, but it is too early to draw definitive conclusions, according to a Senior Police Officer. “We have seized a diary, a laptop, a mobile phone, the rope used in the hanging, some medicines, and other articles,” he added.
