A third-year BTech student at IIT Kharagpur was found hanging in his hostel room on Sunday afternoon when his parents came to meet him, said an officer at Kharagpur Town police station.
Police said Shaon Malik, from Kasba’s Rajdanga, was found hanging in his room at the Azad Hall of Residence, one of the students’ hostels on the campus.
Officials at the institute took the student of electrical engineering to BC Roy Technology Hospital on the campus, where he was declared dead.
Dhritiman Sarkar, the superintendent of West Midnapore police, who visited the campus to probe the death, told The Telegraph: “We are carrying out a thorough investigation from all possible angles. A case of unnatural death has been started.”
The police team took sniffer dogs to the campus.
An officer at Kharagpur Town police station said Shaon had last spoken to his mother on Saturday night. He was not answering his parents’ calls when they arrived on the campus on Sunday morning.
The parents alerted students of the hostel and the hostel superintendent.
“The student’s room was broken and he was found hanging,” said an IIT official.
His parents broke down when an unconscious Shaon was being stretchered into the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
“Shaon was their only son,” said a police officer.
His father, a state government official, was too shocked to speak.
The institute issued a statement: “Upon discovery of the incident, the campus security and medical teams were immediately alerted. Police authorities have been informed. His family is already on the campus. The police are conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Malik’s death. The institute is
fully cooperating with the authorities.”
The statement said Shaon was an academically gifted student with a CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) above 9.
“The student was intelligent and full of dedication. He had a promising future in electrical engineering,” said an IIT official.
Shaon was an active member of Druheen — Bengali Technology Dramatics Society, IIT Kharagpur.
The Facebook profile of the deceased student says he was a “stageplay” director at Druheen.
Amit Patra, the director of IIT BHU (Varanasi) and interim director of IIT Kharagpur, told this newspaper: “We want the police to probe the incident so the truth is revealed. The student did not face any academic challenges, as suggested by his results. The institute is keen to know what triggered the death.”
Shaon’s family left for Calcutta in the evening with the body after the post-mortem at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital. The report was yet to be submitted, said a police officer.
“We are tracking his call details. We will speak to his friends as well. What he ate at dinner is also being examined. The police will also try to find out whether he received any threat call,” said a police officer.
The institute said in the statement that it is providing “all necessary assistance” to Shaon’s family so they could cope with “this incredibly difficult time”.
“IIT Kharagpur is committed to the well-being and mental health of its students. We have a range of support services available, including counselling and mental health resources, and we urge students to utilise these services whenever needed,” the institute said.
In June 2024, a third-year BTech student of the department of bioscience and biotechnology at IIT Kharagpur was found hanging on the premises of the Sarojini Naidu/Indira Gandhi Hall of Residence on the campus.
On Friday, a lab technician named Sakir Ali was found dead on the campus.
