Chennai: IIT Madras student allegedly dies by suicide; second incident at campus in a month

Chennai: A third-year student of B Tech in Electrical Engineering at the IIT Madras, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, was found dead in his hostel room on the campus on Tuesday. Police suspect, he died by suicide and said a note found in his room had the words, “Don’t prosecute”. 

IIT Madras sources said, the student identified as V Pushpak Sreesai, aged 21, is a native of Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh and was staying at the Alakananda Hostel block with three roommates. While the other inmates were away, he ended his life. It was claimed that Sreesai was depressed since he had not performed well in the institute examinations. 

The Kotturpuram Police have registered an FIR and are investigating. This was the second case of suicide at the prestigious institution in a month. On February 14, a Maharashtra boy Steven Sunny, who was pursuing a Master’s degree programme, had allegedly ended his life in the hostel room. 

In a statement, the IIT Madras said, “A standing Institute Internal Inquiry Committee, including elected student representatives, which has been recently constituted will look into such incidents.”

The institution said that post-COVID has been a challenging environment and the institute has been endeavouring to improve and sustain the well-being of the students/scholars, faculty, and staff on campus while constantly evaluating the various support systems in place. 

The parents of the student have been informed and “we request everyone to please respect the privacy of the family at this unfortunate moment,” the statement said.