PhD Scholar, 25, Dies By Suicide At IIT Kanpur, 2nd Incident In 3 Weeks

A 25-year-old PhD scholar at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur died by suicide after jumping from the sixth floor of a campus residential building on Tuesday afternoon, police and institute sources confirmed.

Ramswaroop Ishwaram was a native of Churu in Rajasthan. He joined the institute in July 2023 and was pursuing his PhD in the Department of Earth Sciences. Ishwaram lived in the New SBRA building on campus with his wife, Manju, and their three-year-old daughter. His wife is reportedly three months pregnant.

This comes close on the heels of another tragedy on campus. On December 29, Jai Singh Meena (26), a final-year BTech student from Rajasthan, was found dead in his hostel room.

Preliminary police investigation and accounts from friends suggest that Ishwaram had been battling schizophrenia for the past two years, alongside anxiety and depression. He was receiving regular treatment and counselling through IIT Kanpur's facilities. On Monday evening, friends accompanied him to a physician who recommended a counsellor referral. A follow-up was scheduled for Tuesday evening, but Ishwaram died before the appointment.

Campus residents rushed him to a private hospital after the incident, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Fellow students then transported the body to the postmortem house. Friends, including one named Rajiv, described him as mentally disturbed in recent days but noted that his condition had been in a "low phase" with ongoing treatment at the institute.

Kalyanpur police and forensic teams reached the scene to collect evidence and question witnesses. DCP (West) Kasim Abidi stated that initial inquiries point toward a struggle with long-term depression. Family members have been informed, and questioning of the wife is underway at the police station, he said.

In an official statement, IIT Kanpur said, "With profound grief, IIT Kanpur mourns the tragic and untimely demise of Mr Ramswroop Ishram, a PhD scholar in the Department of Earth Sciences, today. Mr Ishram was a promising research scholar who joined the Institute in July 2023. At this hour of grief, the Institute condoles the untimely demise of a promising researcher and prays for strength to the bereaved family".

The incident has drawn sharp focus to the high rate of student suicides at the institution. Statistics show that of the 30 suicides recorded across the 23 IITs in the last two years, nine happened at IIT Kanpur alone. This 30 per cent share represents the highest count at any single IIT campus in the country.

Dheeraj Singh, an independent consultant who mentors students from the IITs, told NDTV: "The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that mental health is an integral part of the Right to Life under Article 21. Further in the Saha v. State of Andhra Pradesh case, the Court has ordered that student mental health be treated as a constitutional and institutional responsibility. Given this is the ninth suicide death in the IIT Kanpur campus under the Director Manindra Agarwal, the Ministry of Education is urged to hold the Director responsible for such a serious state of affairs in IIT Kanpur during his tenure both as Director and Deputy Director and terminate his directorship with immediate effect".

The back-to-back tragedies have once again spotlighted mental health challenges faced by students at premier institutions. Authorities have initiated a thorough probe into the circumstances surrounding Ramswaroop's death, even as calls grow for enhanced support systems on campus.

With inputs from Arun Agarwal.