"No One Has Time," IIT Madras Student, Found Dead In Room, Told Friends

"No one has time for me, all are busy," the 20-year-old student who was found dead at the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai yesterday, would tell his friends often, an investigating officer told NDTV.

The second-year student from Maharashtra was pursuing Chemical Engineering,

In an undated, unsigned note recovered from his room, the student, police say, has thanked his friends for being nice to him. 

The "academically brilliant" student could not have a healthy socialising "to relieve his stress", the officer said.

If the police confirm suicide later after investigation, it would be the fourth case in IIT-Madras this year.

Condoling the student's death, IIT Madras had yesterday said that "the reason for his death not known". The institute reiterated its "pro-active measures" to help students beat stress.

The institute has a "be happy" website to help students remain stress-free, besides a "Kushal faculty programme" to develop a positive mindset among students.

Recently a Ph D scholar died by suicide at his apartment outside the campus had left a status that said "Sorry, I am not good enough."

Many blame the years of highly stressful preparation to crack the difficult entrance exam to get a seat in the IIT. While coaching centres, through rigorous practice help them secure admission, experts say they are not really prepared to cope with the highly demanding rigour of the B Tech over the next five years.

In an interview to NDTV, IIT Madras Director Prof Kamakoti had earlier said the institute is taking the issue seriously. He blamed it on "lack of socialising amid the pandemic over the last few years". We had "a full batch of M Tech students who passed out amid the pandemic without attending classes" he added.

There are also issues of acceptance, culture shock and pressure to prove for students from backward communities, besides complaints of discrimination on the basis of caste. A few days ago, IIT's across India had launched a wellness progress to check this disturbing trend.