IIT Kanpur MTech student allegedly dies by suicide in hostel room

A second-year Master of Technology (MTech) student studying at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, died by suicide late Wednesday night, police said.
Police said that the deceased identified as Vikas Meena, 31, was found hanging in his hostel room by the college students, who were alarmed as there was no activity and his door room remained locked for a long. Following this, they informed the institute authorities, who then called the police, an officer aware of the matter said.
Kalyanpur station house officer Dhananjay Pandey said police came to know about the incident late on Wednesday night and soon a team was sent to spot which took custody of the body.
The deceased hailed from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and was a student of aerospace engineering at IIT Kanpur, said the SHO. “We have sent the body for autopsy and informed his family,” Pandey said. Prima facie it has emerged that Meena took his own life after failing to clear the exams in three attempts, leading to his termination from the IIT, he added.
The IIT Kanpur in a statement said the institute mourns the untimely demise of an academically bright student.
Meena enrolled in the MTech degree programme in 2021. A forensic team has taken stock of the situation, and the institute is waiting for the police to determine the exact reason behind the death, said the administration.
This is the second case of suicide in the last one month. On December 12, 2023, a senior research staff member of the biological sciences and bio-engineering department, Dr Pallavi, had allegedly died by suicide.
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