25 February 2011
A 26-year old MTech student of Mechanical Engineering at IIT- Madras committed suicide by hanging himself. V. Anoop hung himself from the ceiling of a room which is used to store water cans on the sixth floor of the hostel building. Anoop, a native of Andhra Pradesh, is remembered as a cheerful person. Residents said he had stepped out on February 23rd evening to meet a friend in Velachery but was not to be found after he returned at night. His roommate Narasimha Rao started looking out for him around the campus but could not find him. While returning, Rao noticed a length of rope hanging from the ceiling of an unoccupied room. He immediately informed the hostel authorities who alerted the police. Police teams rushed there, broke open the door, and recovered Anoop's body. Anoop had also left a note stating no-one is responsible for his death and the police should not disturb any of the college professors, his friends or family for an inquiry. Anoop's family was informed about the demise of their child. His father who works in private company in Tirupati was informed. After the postmortem, the student's body was handed over to family members on February 24, 2011 evening. Police sources said Anoop, who was pursuing a dual degree MTech programme in Mechanical Engineering, should have completed his course in 2009. However, he remained on campus in an attempt to complete his arrears and finish his project within the stipulated extension period. "Though he got an extension, he was unable to complete the project to clear the course. A lot of people think this might be the reason for his suicide. It is very sad that this happened because we have facilities like guidance counselling available on the campus but students also need to take the initiative to use it when they think they have a problem," a student said.
