PhD scholar at IIT Madras commits suicide, third incident this year

Chennai: A 32-year-old research scholar at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras committed suicide by hanging at his residence at Velachery in Chennai.

The deceased, Sachin Kumar Jain, was a native of West Bengal.

Police said that on March 31, he had put a WhatsApp status: "I am Sorry, not good enough." His friends reached home upon seeing this and found him hanging in the room.

Sachin was a Ph.D. research scholar at the Mechanical Engineering Department of IIT, Madras.

This is the third incident of suicide here in the year 2023 and demands have begun for conducting mental health surveys among the students in the premier institution.

According to police, Sachin was staying at Brahmin street, Velachery along with two of his friends. He allegedly committed suicide on March 31 afternoon.

The body has been sent to Royapettah government hospital for post-mortem.

The IIT, Madras issued a condolence statement saying: "We are deeply anguished to convey the untimely passing away of a PhD research scholar from the Mechanical Engineering Department on the afternoon of March 31 at his residence in Velachery, Chennai. A student with an exemplary academic and research record is a big loss to the research community."

The statement further said: "The institute expresses its heartfelt condolences and shares the grief of friends and family of the deceased student. The Institute requests everyone respect the privacy of the student's family at this juncture. May the departed soul rest in peace."

With inputs from agencies