An assistant professor at IIT(ISM) in Dhanbad died mysteriously in a swimming pool on the campus on Tuesday morning.

Yashwant Kumar Gujala, 36, had gone for a swim at the pool along with his friends at 8am when he “suddenly disappeared” and was fished out by lifeguards in an unconscious condition. There are two lifeguards and one coach present at the pool all the time.

Gujala was a native of Odisha. His parents stay in Howrah while his in-laws stay in Kharagpur. Gujala joined the institute in January last year and got married in April this year.

“He was an assistant professor in the mining department and had gone on his regular swimming session with friends and colleagues at the pool. However, all of a sudden he disappeared into the pool and was taken out by the lifeguards in an unconscious state. They tried to give CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) but it did not help. He was rushed to the nearby Shahid Nirmal Mahato Medical College but was declared dead,” IIT(ISM) director Rajiv Shekhar said.

According to the faculty members, there were over 16 people in the pool when he drowned. The area of the pool where he drowned is the shallowest.

“Gujala was a regular in swimming and also a good sportsperson. We do not know what happened all of a sudden. Clarity will emerge only after the autopsy, which will be done at the government medical college in Dhanbad,” a senior faculty member in the mining department, Dheeraj Kumar, said.

The officer in charge of Dhanbad Sadar police station, Santosh Gupta, refused to specify any reason for the death.

“We are treating it as an unnatural death case. However, we are awaiting the post-mortem report from the hospital for a clear picture. The deceased’s relatives have arrived on the campus in the evening. If they want to lodge a case, we will certainly lodge a complaint based on their statements,” Gupta said.

Shekhar said that two events scheduled on Tuesday had been postponed till further notice.