A second-year student at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her hostel room on Friday. According to Adarsh Police Station SHO Vishal Kumar, the deceased has been identified as Diksha Dubey. She was a resident of Bihar and was pursuing BTech in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science.
When Diksha did not answer the repeated phone calls made by her friends on Thursday, they went to check on her and found the room locked from inside. After being informed, police and forensic teams reached the spot at around 3 pm. They broke open the door and she was found hanging from the ceiling fan. The body was shifted to LNJP Civil Hospital for post-mortem.
According to the SHO, the exact reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained. Further action will depend on the outcome of the investigation and statements recorded from the family members. This is the fourth reported suicide case at the institute since February.
The repeated incidents have triggered demonstrations on the campus, with a large number of students gathering late at night and staging a demonstration at the main gate.
Students alleged that the behaviour of certain hostel staff and authorities was not satisfactory. They also raised concerns about how the situation was handled and questioned the response time after the incident came to light.
Though the administration had earlier introduced measures such as mentoring systems, increased faculty-student interaction, and counselling services after previous incidents, many students said stronger and more effective steps were still required.
On February 16, a 19-year-old student from Telangana, Angod Shiva, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room. He was a first-semester Computer Science and Engineering student. Another student from Nuh also died by suicide on March 31. The third suspected suicide was reported on April 8, when Priyanshu Sharma, a third-year civil engineering student from Haryana’s Sirsa, was found hanging in his hostel room.
Officiating Director Brahmjit said the institute administration has accepted several demands raised by students who staged demonstrations after the latest incident. Among the major decisions, the institute agreed to allow re-examinations for re-appear papers on an annual basis instead of the earlier even-odd semester system.
According to him, students had complained that under the previous system, pending re-appear papers kept accumulating, increasing academic pressure and mental stress, especially after the fourth semester. He added that the institute is working on creating a more effective mechanism to address student grievances and ensure that their concerns are resolved in a timely manner.
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