IIT-Kanpur Student Found Dead In Hostel Room

Academic Struggles Revealed: Failed in 3 Papers

In Kanpur, a 31-year-old second-year M.Tech student reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan in his hostel room at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, as per the police statement on Thursday.

Although the motive remains unclear, a police official mentioned that the student had been "temporarily" removed from the course due to failing three exam papers. Typically, students are allowed to retake these exams.

The police reported that the body of Vikas Kumar Meena, a resident of Meerut, was discovered hanging in his room on Wednesday.

Meena had enrolled in an M.Tech course in the Department of Aerospace Engineering in 2021.

In the course of interrogation, fellow students residing in the hostel informed the police that on the day of the incident, Meena's room was locked from inside, and despite repeated calls, he did not respond, stated Additional DCP (ADCP) West, Akash Patel.

After being informed, hostel authorities took action, breaking open the door to find Meena hanging from the ceiling fan, as explained by ADCP Akash Patel.

The victim was quickly taken to the IIT's health centre and subsequently transferred to Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital, where he was declared brought dead, according to Kalyanpur Station House Officer (SHO) Dhananjay Pandey.

The police, as reported by ADCP, are actively attempting to trace a "suicide note" that has been circulating among certain individuals, said the ADCP to PTI.

The ADCP mentioned to PTI, "There is one soft copy, said to be the suicide note, which is circulating among some people, but we are yet to get a hard copy. We are tracing it."

An anonymous senior police official revealed that Meena was "temporarily" terminated due to failing three exam papers, suggesting that this might have led him to severe depression and could be a possible reason behind his drastic step.

The IIT-Kanpur administration has expressed condolences for the tragic and untimely demise of Meena through a press release.

The statement indicated, "A forensic team has examined the situation. The institute awaits further investigation by the police to ascertain the likely cause of death." The release also added that with Vikas' passing, the institute has lost a young and promising student.