PhD student at IIT-Kanpur hangs self in hostel room

Kanpur (UP): A 29-year-old PhD student at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur allegedly committed suicide here on Thursday, the third such case in recent weeks, police said.

Priyanka Jaiswal, who was pursuing a PhD in Chemical engineering, allegedly hanged herself from the ceiling fan in her hostel room, they said.

Jaiswal, a native of Jharkhand’s Dumka, was admitted admission in the institute on December 29 last year.

This was the third suicide in the IIT-K campus in a month.

Talking to PTI over the phone, Additional DCP (West) Akash Patel said they received information about a suicide by a PhD student at around 1 pm.

As police teams rushed to the spot, they found the door of Jaiswal’s room was locked from inside. After breaking open the door, they found the woman's body hanging from the ceiling fan, he added Jaiswal’s hostel mates had informed IIT-K authorities who later called the police.

A forensic team has been called to the spot, Patel said, adding that more information will be shared with the media regarding the suicide.

On January 11, M.Tech second-year student Vikas Kumar Meena (31) allegedly hanged himself from the ceiling fan in his IIT, Kanpur hostel room, reportedly after he was "temporarily" barred from continuing with his course.

On December 19, postdoctoral researcher Pallavi Chilka (34) hanged herself from the ceiling fan of her second-floor hostel room on the campus.

Possible reasons behind Jaiswal’s suicide will only be revealed after a preliminary probe and completing other formalities, Patel said.