IIT Kharagpur Under Shadow of Grief: 4th Student Death in 7 Months Sparks Alarm

Kolkata. A fourth-year B.Tech student from the Indian Institute of Technology IIT Kharagpur was found dead in his hostel room on Friday, marking the fourth unnatural death on the campus since January 2025.

The student, identified as Ritam Mondal (21), was pursuing Mechanical Engineering and hailed from Kolkata. According to institute officials, Ritam was discovered hanging in his room at the Rajendra Prasad (RP) Hall hostel around noon, after he failed to respond to repeated knocks on his door.

A fellow hostelmate reported that Ritam had returned to his room after dinner on Thursday night and had not exhibited any unusual behavior.

Campus security and police personnel broke into the room after receiving no response and found the student deceased. The family has been informed, institute authorities confirmed.

Ritam’s death has sent shockwaves throughout the IIT Kharagpur campus community, intensifying concerns about student mental health and support systems.

This tragic incident follows three similar deaths earlier this year:

January 12: Shaon Malik, a third-year Electrical Engineering student, was found hanging in his room.

April 20: Aniket Walker, a final-year Ocean Engineering student, was discovered dead under similar circumstances.

May 4: Mohammad Asif Qamar, a third-year B.Tech student, was also found dead in his hostel room.

In response to the recurring tragedies, the institute has taken several steps to improve student support, including:

Installation of barcodes on every hostel room door, which students can scan to instantly access helpline numbers for round-the-clock counselling services.

Launch of the ‘Campus Mothers’ initiative, where women faculty and staff members serve as emotional mentors for students.

another post: Sharda University student suicide, Another victim of bad education system

Despite these measures, the recent deaths have prompted widespread concern, with calls growing louder for a more robust and proactive mental health support system across premier educational institutions.

Leave a Comment