Student suicide rocks Odisha's KIIT University, third case this year; family lodges harassment complaint

The body of a first-year B Tech student of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) was found hanging in his hostel room here, the third such incident in less than a year, police said on Monday.

Third incident in less than a year

The deceased was identified as Rahul Yadav, an 18-year-old student of Computer Science, hailing from Raipur in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, Assistant Commissioner of Police ACP Sonal Singh Parmar said.

Earlier, on February 16 and May 1, two female Nepalese students were found hanging in their hostel rooms on the KIIT campus.

Parmar said that the latest incident had taken place around 10.45 pm on Sunday and that the body was recovered by personnel of Infocity Police Station.

"The autopsy was performed at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar in the presence of the magistrate and family members of the deceased student," she said.

Police launch investigation

Preliminary inquiry points to friendship of the deceased student with “a girl of the same age based in Chhattisgarh”, police said, adding complications in the relationship might have led to differences between them.

His mother has filed a complaint against the family of the girl.

"The complaint alleges harassment of her son by the father, mother and brother of the girl. Based on her complaint, registration of a case at Infocity PS is underway," the police said in a statement.

The body of the student was handed over to the family members. Meanwhile, KIIT, in a statement, has termed the incident “sad and unfortunate”.

“It is believed to be a love-related incident. The student died by suicide due to personal reasons. The student’s mother has also been informed about this. His mother said that he had been in love with a young woman,” it said.

“After the postmortem, his mother informed that the girl’s father and family had threatened and intimidated the student. As a result, he was forced to die by suicide. The deceased’s family has said it will file a police complaint against the girl’s family,” the KIIT statement said.

The institute also expressed concern over the “increasing rate” of suicide among students in various educational institutions in Odisha and outside it.

The mother of the deceased student also expressed her apprehensions about ceiling fans in the KIIT hostel.

"The college authority is also to be blamed for keeping overhead fans in hostel rooms. There is no such facility in several hostels in Kota (Rajasthan), where thousands study," she said.