290 - Junior colleges fail to teach life skills - Deccan Chronicle

Junior colleges fail to teach life skills

DC CORRESPONDENT | December 28, 2014, 05.12 am IST

Hyderabad: It is often alleged that the reason many students from the two Telugu-speaking states commit suicide at the IITs is the way coaching institutions and corporate junior colleges teach them prior to their admission to the premier institutes.

Experts say that while the students are prepared academically, emphasis on character building is almost non-existent.

Students at coaching institutions have almost no time to think of anything apart from academics.

Read: Facebook page slams private colleges

Counselling sessions do not exist and while day scholars at least have family support, the hostellers are truly at loss.

Also, most of the Telugu IIT students who committed suicides, had prepared for the JEE in corporate junior colleges.  The latest victim, Kaki Parameswara Rao, had also studied away from his home in a corporate college at Vizag. And so did many victims before him.

 It would, of course, be wrong to blame just coaching institutions for all the suicides, but they do contribute to the problem along with other factors, including the student’s own psyche. Corporate colleges pay little attention to the emotional stress that students face or are likely to face in the future.

K. Shashank, a BITS-Pilani Hyderabad alumnus, who also studied in a corporate college, says, “Corporate colleges often feel like closed boxes. It is worse for the hostel students because they are hardly exposed to anything other than books”

“Many students settle for mediocre colleges and not for long-term coaching institutes just because they don’t want to go be in that environment. Nobody cares about the emotions of a student at the coaching institutes,” another graduate of a corporate college and Manipal alumnus B. Aditya Sree said.

FIITJEE mentor director Dr P. Anand Raman claims coaching institutions just manufacture machines and don’t turn out individuals. “Coaching institutions are there to coach students and help them get ranks. Even parents want that. They want their children to work hard and get into IITs. They seldom think about the emotions of their children,” remarked a senior lecturer.

289 - Most who end lives from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh - Deccan Chronicle

Most who end lives from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh

DC CORRESPONDENT | December 27, 2014, 01.12 am IST

The Task Force also exhorted IITs and other institutions to set up counselling centres for the benefit of students.

Hyderabad: Over the last 25 years, nearly 66 IIT students have committed suicide and, strikingly, more than 20 of them have been from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana State.

This year has already witnessed 16 suicides while in 2011, there were 10 suicides in different IIT campuses across the country.

The two years in between 2012 and 2013 fortunately had fewer suicides, but the trend of increasing suicide numbers is apparent. This year, nearly six IIT students from AP and TS committed suicides.

A Task Force report of the HRD ministry on suicides in higher education institutions had said that the most common reasons for suicide were relationship issues, personal problems, mental stress, and family problems. Poor grades were also found to fuel suicide cases, said the report.

The Task Force also exhorted IITs and other institutions to set up counselling centres for the benefit of students. Some of the IITs have already set up the counselling centres.

But this hasn’t arrested the spike in the number of suicides. IIT Kanpur has a full-fledged counselling centre, but also has the infamous tag of having the highest number of suicides.

288 - IIT - Guwahati student commits suicide (26-12-2014) - ABN Telugu - You Tube

IIT - Guwahati student commits suicide (26-12-2014)

287 - IIT Guwahati suicide case: Mug up race takes a toll - Deccan Chronicle

IIT Guwahati suicide case: Mug up race takes a toll

DC | Amar Tejaswi | December 27, 2014, 07.12 am IST

The pressure of excelling at everything you do makes you emotionally weak. More emphasis should be laid on support and guidance.”

Hyderabad: The alleged suicide of K. Parameswara Rao from Visakhapatnam at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, on Thursday has ignited the debate on the competitive environment in IITs and the rising suicide rate.

Experts say that the difference in learning at coaching classes (before the Joint Entrance Exam) and at the IIT, demotivates a lot of students, driving them to suicide.

While academic pressure is most often blamed, the alumni of IITs say the skewed expectations of students themselves are a common reason for suicide.

The exact cause of Parameswara Rao’s death is yet to be ascertained, but it is thought that low grades pushed him to suicide.

Dr P. Anand Raman, mentor-director at FIITJEE, Hyderabad, said that the transition from learning in JEE coaching classes to learning at IITs is quite precarious though the environment in IITs is not the most vigorous.

“With the predictable format and questions of JEE now, students are encouraged to rote learn. But when they go to IITs, they find it requires the  individual application of one’s mind.

That’s what happened with the topper of IIT JEE 2010. When he passed out of IIT-Bombay his CGPA, was only 7. Teaching systems are different and so they get de-motivated.”

Experts rue the fact that while Andhra Pradesh and Telangana State send the most students to IITs, students from these two states also have the highest suicide rate.

Shilpa Muduy, an alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur, said, “The curriculum in IITs doesn’t put pressure on students but the environment does.

The pressure of excelling at everything you do makes you emotionally weak. More emphasis should be laid on support and guidance.”

While parents, whose wards have committed suicides in IITs always assert that their children were academically brilliant, low grades are the most common reason.

Sky-high expectations are another reason. “The biggest problem is skewed expectations from all quarters, including the students themselves.

At that age, everything feels like the end of the world. They require counselling. Colleges must set up units to address issues ranging from academic, monetary and relationships to internships and placements,” said Sri Nitya A., an alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur. Alumni also suggest setting up of anonymous hotlines like in the United States.

Students from economically weaker sections face a steeper climb, and if they miss a step, it adds to the emotional pressure. “Students from economically weaker sections face the lack of emotional support from parents, which affluent students get.

They also have a lot of responsibilities. They feel they have to get a good job to support their parents,” an IIT- Hyderabad professor said.

Students also get distracted and obsessed with new-found freedom, sitcoms, movies, gaming and relationships.

“In school, many believe that getting into an IIT and landing a job is the final milestone of their life and it will be a smooth ride post that.

When their grades suffer and the axe looms, they get depressed and frustrated,” Sumit Kumar, an alumnus of IIT Madras said.

286 - B Tech student K Parameswara Rao was coming home in January- Deccan Chronicle

B Tech student K Parameswara Rao was coming home in January

DC CORRESPONDENT | December 27, 2014, 01.12 am IST

Parameswara Rao’s relatives mourn in K. Kotapadu of Vizag district on Friday. — DC

Visakhapatnam: Parents and relatives of 20 year old Kaki Parameswara Rao, the final year B.Tech student at IIT Guwahati, have raised doubts over his death. He was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room on Thursday afternoon.

The student hails from K Kotapadu area of Vizag district. His father K. Venkata Rao runs a paan shop.

“We don’t know what happened at IIT-Guwahati on December 24 evening and we are not in a position to trust the institute professors. I know my son was brilliant, brave and confident. He would not take such a drastic step over low grades,” said Mr Rao.

His maternal uncle N. Venkata Rao said Parmeswara spoke to him December 23 and said he would come home for Sankranti.

Neither authorities nor Parameswara’s friends have spoken about what happened. The mortal remains of the student were sent to Delhi on Friday and will reach Vizag city on Saturday morning. His family has said they are waiting for the post-mortem report and fight for justice.

285 - Grim mood grips campus; Rao was outgoing, say friends - Deccan Chronicle

Grim mood grips campus; Rao was outgoing, say friends

DC CORRESPONDENT | December 27, 2014, 01.12 am IST

Kaki Parameswara Rao

Visakhapatnam: IIT Guwahati student K. Parameswara Rao’s suicide on Thursday has left his batch mates in a state of shock.

His batchmates say that while some students from rural and economically weak backgrounds are expected to take time to cope up with the new and challenging environment of the premier institution, Rao was an outgoing and jovial person.

“Rao was the maintenance secretary for Barak Hostel for one year. Being a is maintenance secretary is not a trivial matter since it is a role with several responsibilities.

Being a hostel secretary he also made many friends. How can there be doubts that he was a secluded person?” said one of his batchmates.

He added, “A and grim mood has gripped the institute. Students are shocked as Rao never showed any signs of being in depression. He was very active. He played cricket with his friends just the day before.”

A condolence meeting was organised in his memory on Friday by students and administration.

284 - Visakhapatnam student ends life at IIT Guwahati

Visakhapatnam student ends life at IIT Guwahati

DC CORRESPONDENT | December 26, 2014, 01.12 am IST

Kaki Parameswara Rao

Visakhapatnam: Kaki Parameswara Rao from Vizag, a B.Tech (mechanical engineering) student at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, allegedly committed suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan in the hostel on Thursday.

According to reports from various sources, Rao hails from K. Kotapadu of Vizag district. His father K. Venkata Rao runs a paan shop.

Sources also said that he had played cricket with his friends on Wednesday on the campus. He had then gone to his room and didn’t come out. His friends went to his room and found him hanging from the ceiling fan. The doors and windows were locked from inside.

The reason for the suicide is yet to ascertained. However, it is suspected that he ended his life because he allegedly failed to clear an examination.

His father has said he never expected his son to take such an extreme step. He also said that there were no signs of any kind of depression either.

283 - City student ends life at Guwahati IIT - The Hindu

VISAKHAPATNAM, December 25, 2014

Updated: December 25, 2014 23:23 IST

City student ends life at Guwahati IIT

A student from Visakhapatnam, studying mechanical engineering at IIT-Guwahati, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan at the hostel on Thursday.

The final year student, K. Parameshwar Rao, was found hanging by his classmates in the afternoon.

According to early reports from Guwahati campus, Parameshwar Rao was a very bright student and had played cricket with his friends till late in the evening on Wednesday. Then, he had gone to his room and did not come out in the morning. Assuming that he had a late night study session, his friend did not disturb him. But when he did not turn up for lunch they got suspicious and tried calling him.

His phone was found to be switched off. Then his friends went to his room and found that the door and the windows were locked from inside. They peeked into the room through the ventilator and found him hanging from the ceiling fan.

They informed the management and the police broke open the door and moved the body for post-mortem to the government hospital in Guwahati.

The distraught students from the campus who spoke to The Hindu, said that he had been cheerful till Wednesday evening and showed no signs of any kind of depression or problem.

Son of K. Venkata Rao, who runs a pan shop at K. Kothapadu village of the district, the student had studied his Intermediate in Visakhapatnam and qualified for IIT-JEE from a corporate college.

282 - Vizag student commits suicide in IIT-G - TNN

Vizag student commits suicide in IIT-G

TNN | Dec 26, 2014, 06.08AM IST

VISAKHAPATNAM: A final year B Tech student of IIT Guwahati , Kaki Parameswara Rao, a native of Visakhapatnam district, was found hanging from the ceiling in his hostel room on Thursday afternoon. 

According to sources, Parameswara Rao had committed suicide as he failed in some subjects in previous examinations. Rao hails from K Kothapadu village in the district and was pursuing his final year in mechanical engineering. 

One of the hostellers saw Parameswara hanging from the ceiling in the afternoon. He was with his friends on Wednesday evening and after having dinner, he had gone to his room in Barak Hostel on the IIT campus, the sources said adding after that there was no sight of Parameswara on the campus. 

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Depressed over his poor performance in the exams, Rao ended his life, the sources said. His father runs a paan shop in their village. 

Parameswara Rao had studied Intermediate in one of the corporate colleges in the Port City and had got a good rank in IIT-JEE. 

281 - Student from Vizag District Commits Suicide in IIT-Guwahati Hostel Room - NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

Student from Vizag District Commits Suicide in IIT-Guwahati Hostel Room

By Express News Service

Published: 26th December 2014 06:03 AM

Last Updated: 26th December 2014 06:03 AM

VISAKHAPATNAM: K Parameswara Rao, a final year B.Tech student from Visakhapatnam district, allegedly committed suicide at his hostel room on the IIT campus in Guwahati on Thursday.

IIT-G officials confirmed that Rao, said to be a merit student from a humble background, was found hanging from the ceiling. According to IIT-Guwahati assistant registrar LK Konwar, Rao’s roommates saw him fast asleep in the hostel room when they last saw him.

“The college was closed on the occasion of Christmas. His friends returned to the campus in the afternoon after a visit to Guwahati and went to the ground to play cricket. Realising that Rao, who played cricket with them the previous day, was absent, they knocked on his door to invite him,” Konwar told Express. With no response forthcoming and the doors locked from inside, they suspected that something was amiss and immediately alerted the authorities. Police, who broke open the doors, found Rao hanging.

Rao’s father, K Venkata Rao, a pan shop owner at K Kotapadu, was informed soon after. The mechanical engineering student’s family members, accompanied by relatives and friends, left for Guwahati immediately.  The exact reason for Rao’s suicide remains unclear. His friends and faculty members at the IIT-G said he was in good spirits when they had last interacted with him. However, it is suspected that low grades in examinations could have driven him to take the extreme step.

But his friends insisted that Rao did not betray any signs of depression over his alleged low grades. “In fact, he played cricket on Wednesday till evening despite the cold weather and later, had dinner with us. He even sent SMSes from his mobile wishing his Christian friends a ‘Merry Christmas’,” a classmate said.  

Faculty members said they were in shock as such an incident had not taken place on the campus in recent times. A condolence meeting was held Thursday evening to mourn Rao.

280 - IIT-Guwahati student commits suicide - dna India

IIT-Guwahati student commits suicide

Thursday, 25 December 2014 - 6:50pm IST | Place: Guwahati | Agency: PTI

A final year B.Tech student of IIT-Guwahati today allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room. The student, identified as T Parameswar Rao, was found hanging in his hostel room this afternoon, an IIT-G spokesman said.

Rao hailed from Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The police sent the body for postmortem to Guwahati Medical College Hospital.

The exact cause of incident was yet to be ascertained though it was suspected that his getting low grades in examinations could be a reason. 

279 - BITS Pilani student commits suicide - IBN Live

Jul 22, 2011 at 09:27am IST

BITS Pilani student commits suicide

Express News Service

@ibnlive

• 
  HYDERABAD: A PhD student of BITS Pilani reportedly committed suicide by jumping to death from atop a building on the campus on Thursday. The reasons for the extreme step are not yet known. Preliminary investigation led the police to believe that it could be a case of a failed love affair.

Thimmappa Manjushetty, 30, was staying in room no 116 of Gandhi Bhavan block on the BITS Pilani campus in Jawaharnagar mandal outskirts under the Alwal police station limits. 

Thimmappa, a native of Karnataka, was pursuing his PhD in pharmacy and joined the institute in 2008. He was on the verge of completing his PhD in the next couple of months.  According to Alwal police inspector J Pushpan Kumar, Thimmappa went out of the campus on Wednesday and returned at night. He did not reportedly speak to any of the other students and went inside his room. “Many of the hosteliers left to their respective places as it was vacation. 

There were just a couple of students staying on the campus,” Pushpan Kumar said. Only a couple of students were in the hostel in the first floor of the block. On Thursday, workers sweeping the premises found Thimmappa’s body near the Buddha Bhavan block, which is adjacent to the block in which the deceased was  staying. “We suspect he might have jumped from the fourth floor of the block,” Pushpan Kumar said.

Police said they are yet to question other inmates of the campus, his friends and family members to ascertain the reasons for the suicide. “The family members are yet to arrive in the city,”  the inspector said, adding they might throw more light on the reasons that led to Thimmappa’s suicide. 

Police said they would be verifying the call particulars of Thimmappa’s mobile phone to know more about his friends.
Police are trying to establish whether Thimmappa met any person after he left the campus on Wednesday.

The body was shifted to the Gandhi  General Hospital for autopsy which would be performed on Friday after Thimmappa’s parents arrive.  Police said a case was registered under Section 174 (suspicious death) and investigation is on. 

278 - To Die For - Indian Express

To Die For

Sreenivas Janyala : New Delhi, Sat Feb 09 2013, 21:50 hrs

Why "love failure" stalks the young men and women of Hyderabad

On January 23, a 24-year-old postgraduate student Kiran Kumar hanged himself in his hostel room in Barkatpura, Hyderabad. His friends told the police that he had been preparing for competitive exams. But the trigger, apparently, was not academic pressure. He had fallen in love with a girl. When his overtures were rejected, he locked himself in his room for a couple of days. The body was found soon after. He did not leave a suicide note.

A research scholar at BITS Pilani in the city, T Manjushetty, had a crush on a girl who was his junior. When she married another man last year, he was heartbroken. On the day the newly-married girl resumed classes, he jumped to death from the third floor of his hostel building.

"Love failure" is a silent malaise stalking young men and women in Andhra Pradesh, with several instances of techies, engineering students and research scholars, succumbing to the despair that follows a setback in love or courtship. The police say that unrequited love is the most probable trigger in the many suicide cases that they encounter. 

"In 2011, there were 15,077 suicides in Andhra Pradesh, of which nearly half were related to disappointments in love,'' an official of the Central Crime Station in the city said. Authorities say that Andhra Pradesh is next only to Tamil Nadu in what they call "love failure suicides".

Many of these luckless romantics do not leave suicide notes in order to protect their beloveds from trouble—both legal and familial. If their decision follows a break-up, they ensure that tell-tale text messages, phone numbers and emails are deleted before they take the extreme step. It is only through friends that the police come to know. Some even keep their one-sided romances a secret from their friends. A few leave hints.

"I am heartbroken because of failed love. I will not bother you again, my dear,'' said the suicide note of Naresh Reddy, a PhD student of University of Hyderabad who swallowed poison in his hostel last January.

Police officials say that it is usually a combination of poor academic performance, unemployment or family problems with a failed romance that drive youths towards suicide. "Failure in love is often the last straw. We have seen cases in which students confided to their friends that they were worried about their studies but committed suicide when their lovers rejected them. Many of these youngsters get involved so obsessively or become so possessive that they are unable to take a no. A rejection takes on the meaning of failure in life,'' an official said.

Telugu cinema and popular culture shapes ideas of young men as obsessive romantics, who will not accept a no. "Telugu movies show the hero doing things so brazenly — aggressively accosting women at bus stops or on trains, in front of classmates, hugging them, teasing them with dialogues that have double meaning and often threatening to kill himself — all to win the heart of the heroine," says Andhra Pradesh Mahila Sangham's leader PA Devi. She also links this to the fact that the state leads in violent attacks, including acid attacks, on girls and women who spurn love-struck youths.

In Hyderabad's colleges and cafes, young men and women out on dates cheerfully distance themselves from such zeal. 

Srivinodh Raju, a student of AV Arts College, says he has been "fielding" outside two tuition classes and one college because he is in love with three different girls. "I may not be lucky with even one. But it is OK, I will move on. Only one among the hundreds and thousands who are in love commits suicide," he says. "One-sided love affairs are also so common but of the thousands of students, one or two fail to accept the reality of life.''

There is also a growing band of young people who fall in love on the internet, without meeting their sweethearts. Some men are known to have deposited money so that "she" could travel to meet him. The outcome is predictable. MCA graduate N Narasimha Reddy of Guntur, who was living in Hyderabad, chatted for hours online every night with a woman from Nalgonda. His friends in Hyderabad told the police that he had never met her but fell deeply in love. When his marriage proposal was rejected, he went into depression. He hanged himself in his friend's room. Police found the printout of a girl's photo but suspect that it is not her real image.

The CID department of the Andhra Pradesh police received over a dozen complaints last year from heart-broken women whose "lovers" turned out to be online fraudsters. In one instance, a 23-year-old woman, who was an MBA, fell madly in love with a man after seeing his photos on a social networking site. They decided to get married right away. But when she suggested they meet, he cited a kidney ailment and family hardships, and requested for her help. The love-struck girl borrowed over Rs 10 lakh and deposited it in his account. She realised the fraud eight months later. Police arrested her lover who turned out to be a dwarf with a fake profile on social networking sites.

Even among the heart-broken, there is a gender divide. There are no statistics to support it but officials say that more men commit suicide over "love failure" than women. "A girl committing suicide over an affair is still considered a major embarrassment to the family. So the jilted girls just carry on in turmoil so as not to bring shame and dishonour to their family. In the few cases of suicide, they give such bizarre reasons as an unbearable stomach ache, which is the most common reason found in suicide notes, or poor academic performance,'' says Inspector E Srinivas of the Central Crime Station.

A corollary of obsessive love is violence and there have been cases of men attacking women who spurned them. Last September, two engineering students from Hyderabad were killed in Guntur when the motorcycle they were riding rammed into a bus. It soon became clear that this was not an accident. A suicide note was recovered from the young man, M Saidu Babu Kumar's shirt pocket. Guntur Rural Inspector M Paul recollects: 

"It appears that his girlfriend S Krishnaja broke up with him a couple of days ago. Kumar plotted his girlfriend's murder when she told him that she had fallen in love with his friend and they had been going around even while she kept up the façade that she was in love with Kumar." His suicide note said that he could not accept the treachery of someone he loved so much and he decided to kill her and commit suicide. It would be, he had told her, their last ride together

277 - BITS Pilani student commits suicide - New Indian Express

BITS Pilani student commits suicide

By Express News Service

Published: 22nd July 2011 03:02 AM

HYDERABAD: A PhD student of BITS Pilani reportedly committed suicide by jumping to death from atop a building on the campus on Thursday. The reasons for the extreme step are not yet known. Preliminary investigation led the police to believe that it could be a case of a failed love affair.

Thimmappa Manjushetty, 30, was staying in room no 116 of Gandhi Bhavan block on the BITS Pilani campus in Jawaharnagar mandal outskirts under the Alwal police station limits.

Thimmappa, a native of Karnataka, was pursuing his PhD in pharmacy and joined the institute in 2008. He was on the verge of completing his PhD in the next couple of months.  

According to Alwal police inspector J Pushpan Kumar, Thimmappa went out of the campus on Wednesday and returned at night. He did not reportedly speak to any of the other students and went inside his room. “Many of the hosteliers left to their respective places as it was vacation.

There were just a couple of students staying on the campus,” Pushpan Kumar said. Only a couple of students were in the hostel in the first floor of the block. On Thursday, workers sweeping the premises found Thimmappa’s body near the Buddha Bhavan block, which is adjacent to the block in which the deceased was  staying. “We suspect he might have jumped from the fourth floor of the block,” Pushpan Kumar said.

Police said they are yet to question other inmates of the campus, his friends and family members to ascertain the reasons for the suicide. “The family members are yet to arrive in the city,”  the inspector said, adding they might throw more light on the reasons that led to Thimmappa’s suicide.

Police said they would be verifying the call particulars of Thimmappa’s mobile phone to know more about his friends.

Police are trying to establish whether Thimmappa met any person after he left the campus on Wednesday.

The body was shifted to the Gandhi  General Hospital for autopsy which would be performed on Friday after Thimmappa’s parents arrive.  Police said a case was registered under Section 174 (suspicious death) and investigation is on.

276 - Jilted, two youths commit suicide - The Hindu

HYDERABAD, October 4, 2013

Updated: October 4, 2013 01:11 IST

Jilted, two youths commit suicide

One of them was a student of BITS Pilani and the other, a civil services aspirant

Their love proposals spurned, two 25-year-olds – a civil services aspirant and a BITS Pilani student – committed suicide in separate incidents in the city on Wednesday.

A. Venu of Nellore, who had recently completed his B.Tech and was in the city to prepare for the Civil Services examination, ended his life by hanging at his friend’s house in Srinivasa Nagar Colony under Jeedimetla police station limits.

Police said Venu had put up a Facebook post saying his girlfriend had been ignoring him, and that he was ending his life.

On noticing this, his friends immediately began calling Venu on his mobile phone but found no response. They then went to his room and broke open the window-grill, only to find him hanging, Jeedimetla Sub-Inspector M. Kranthi Kumar said.

In a similar incident, a third-year BITS Pilani student who attempted suicide by consuming poison in the college’s lab at Alwal on Monday, died while undergoing treatment in a corporate hospital at Secunderabad on Wednesday. Police said B. Arun, a native of Marrepally village in Kadapa district, had sent SMSes to his friends and posted content on Facebook indicating that he was taking the drastic step after his college-mate spurned his love, Alwal SI K. Narasimha said.

Police said bodies of the two students were handed over to the family members after a post-mortem at Gandhi Hospital.

275 - IIT Kanpur Student Commits Suicide—Third Suicide Case in IIT-Kanpur Since last December - Blog Ask IITians

IIT Kanpur Student Commits Suicide—Third Suicide Case in IIT-Kanpur Since last December

      2014-02-06      General Discussion

A B.Tech 3rd year student, Manjunath from IIT-Kanpur, committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan in his hostel room on Wednesday morning. A final year computer science student, Manjunath, hailed from Karnatka.

According to police reports, his body was recovered from his hostel Hall 5 after his classmates found him hanging from the ceiling fan.

“Friends of the deceased say that he was apparently under severe depression and stress,” confirmed Anand Prakash, Kalyanpur police station in-charge.

Manjunath is the third student in IIT-Kanpur since last December to have committed suicide owing to depression.

IIT-Kanpur authority is taking care of all the formalities involved. The family of the student has been informed.

This post was contributed by Monika Rai, askiitians expert

274 - Suicide Strikes Again in IIT-Roorkee after 2 Years—Death Toll Rises to 4 in IITs since December - Blog Ask IITians

Suicide Strikes Again in IIT-Roorkee after 2 Years—Death Toll Rises to 4 in IITs since December

askIITians       2014-02-13      

Udai Biradare, a second year M.Tech student from IIT-Roorkee, ended his life at the campus by hanging himself with a rope from the ceiling fan of his room on Wednesday morning.

He belonged to Latur district in Maharashtra.

The death toll of suicides in IITs has risen to 4 since December, 2013, which has once again highlighted the issues of students dealing with severe depression and stress in a rigorous environment created in IITs.

Udai Biradare was found dead in his room DG 8 of Cautley Bhawan hostel of the institution in the morning by his friends. Police also recovered a suicide note written in Marathi addressed to his parents beneath his laptop.

“The police were informed on Wednesday morning about the incident. The door was broken after we found it bolted from inside. The body has been sent for postmortem,” Sub-inspector Subhash said.

“Once we receive the postmortem report, we can ascertain the exact time of the suicide. Prima facie, it appears the suicide was committed in the wee hours of the morning,” he added.

IIT-Roorkee’s authority refused to comment anything on the incident.

The last case of suicide committed by a student at IIT-Roorkee was reported on February 6th, 2011. Manish Kumar, a third year B. Tech student, had ended his life by jumping from the 5th floor of the hostel building.

This post was contributed by Monika Rai, askiitians expert

273 - IIT-Guwahati Joins IITs’ Suicide Club - Blog Ask IITians

IIT-Guwahati Joins IITs’ Suicide Club

askIITians       2014-03-12      

Students of IIT-Guwahati woke up to tragic news on Tuesday in the campus. Its 22 year old student, S.M. Shohaib, committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan at around 7.30 am in the morning.

S.M. Shohaib hailed from Bhabla in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. He was a bright second year postgraduate student in Mathematics.

According to public relations authority of IIT-Guwahati, S.M. Shohaib was first spotted hanging in his room 204, on the second floor of Dibang Hostel, by his friends who came knocking to ask him to come with them for the class.

The door of his room was not locked from inside.

IIT-Guwahati authority got to know about this tragic event at around 8.00 am after half an hour of the incident.

“It appears to be a case of suicide. We didn’t see any signs of foul play. The laceration mark on Shoaib’s neck was oblique as opposed to a round mark that is normally seen when a person is killed,” said Siddhi Kumar Barua, the investigating officer and deputy superintendent of police, Jalukbari.
“Some other body fluids were found on Shoaib’s body,” said Jatin Bora, magistrate and circle officer (Kamrup).

The body of the student has already been sent for post-mortem to the GMCH by police.

According to reports, S.M. Shohaib had been watching a movie—Black Friday—with his friends till midnight in room 201.
S.M. Shohaib had joined IIT-Guwahati last year in July.

Friends of S.M. Shohaib in the campus said that he was suffering from severe depression for past couple of months. He was also undergoing treatment and was on medication.

His friends believe that it is not possible for the campus administration to keep a track of every student’s mental condition. However, the campus has a standard health center with doctors round the clock.

With a string of suicides in the past at IITs, no IIT institution till now has made it mandatory to check mental health of a student entering the campus. However, IITs check physical health of students.

“He was fine and never told us anything about it. He had called home three days ago and told our mother that he would come home on March 10. He later called to say that he had to cancel the trip because he had to attend extra classes,” Shamim, Shohaib’s elder brother said.

Shohaib was the second of four siblings. Bachelors in Mathematics from Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission College with a first class degree, he had scored over 80 percent in his school boards.

Suicide Strikes Again in IIT-Roorkee after 2 Years—Death Toll Rises to 4 in IITs since December

IIT Kanpur Student Commits Suicide—Third Suicide Case in IIT-Kanpur Since last December

M. Siva Teja of IIT-Bombay Found Dead in Vishakhapatnam

This post was published by Rakesh Singh, The product head at askIITians and an IIT- Delhi and IIM-Kozhikode alumni.

272 - Why BITS Pilani Does Not Have a Suicide Club like IITs? - Blog Ask IITians

Why BITS Pilani Does Not Have a Suicide Club like IITs?

askIITians       2014-03-14

    

The debate over supremacy between India’s two hallowed engineering institutions, BITS Pilani and IITs, is reaching to a real controversial chapter with critics finally delving into the subject they have avoided till now—suicides.

The recent news of an IIT-Guwahati student, S.M. Shohaib, ending his life under mysterious circumstances has sparked outrage in the country over IITs inability to deal with situations that lead students to take such an extreme step.

On the other hand, BITS Pilani sports a squeaky-clean image with fewer suicide cases than IITs. But the real question is—how? Especially when they are both brutal famous engineering institutions churning out the world’s best engineers. They are both teaching the same damn subjects! Why are students at peace in BITS Pilani?

Engineering aspirants who wish to join BITS-Pilani someday believe that the campus offers flexibility in education. Students are almost free to pursue anything in the campus. This engineering institution believes in giving opportunities to students and makes explore them with deep insightful strategies.

Students have flexibility to choose their subjects of choice as electives along with their main subjects. All of it keeps students at peace at BITS-Pilani campuses. There’s no way one can get depressed or feel mentally exploited by campus administration.

Single rooms and no attendance are two quite unique features only introduced by BITS-Pilani. That means students who are not comfortable sharing their rooms with other students can live in a single room facility. This not only gives them a sense of privacy, but also helps them concentrate deeply on their studies. Living with others in engineering institutions has as many benefits as drawbacks.

No attendance policy of BITS Pilani is its most talked-about feature. Students don’t have to attend boring classes just for the heck of it. BITS-Pilani don’t force its students to attend classes that they don’t want to. Of course, this does not happen in IITs. Students are required to maintain a good attendance rate in IITs, which many students believe takes toll in their lives at one point or another.

All right! Shortage of quality faculty in IITs was big news recently. All IITs are still grappling to deal with this situation. Shortage of quality faculty affects overall education system of just any institution. Depression among students has been closely linked to shortage of quality teaching staff according to many studies.

However, BITS Pilani has some of the world’s best teaching staff. They not only teach students, but also give their valuable guidance whenever they need. They understand them. Many decisions in the campus are taken by teachers and students mutually. So there is no point of students getting stressed over anything. BITS Pilani understands the role of right education in students’ life but does not feed it to them blindly. BITS Pilani believes in making teaching creative and smart.

According to reports, suicide rates in IITs increase by 18% every year. This clearly shows that the entire education system in IITs needs an immediate reform. Although both institutions teach the same thing to students, the difference between their ways of teaching changes the entire game.

IIT-Guwahati Joins IITs’ Suicide Club

The Haunted Truth of Indian Institute of Technology

Suicide Strikes Again in IIT-Roorkee after 2 Years—Death Toll Rises to 4 in IITs since December

IIT Kanpur Student Commits Suicide—Third Suicide Case in IIT-Kanpur Since last December

This post was published by Nishant Sinha, co-founder of askIITians.

271 - IITian’s death shrouds in mystery - Assam Times

IITian’s death shrouds in mystery

Submitted by AT News on Wed, 10/12/2014 - 20:04

The recent death of Tussar Yadav inside IIT-Guwahati campus seems to have shrouded in mystery. The IITian’s parents have alleged it a murder case and that they are unhappy with the police investigation which has yet to ascertain the real circumstances where the Gurgaon student died on September 14.  

In an appeal sent to Assam Times, his parents rued that only a CBI probe would be able to unearth the truth.  They further alleged that the suicide note handed over to them bears no mention of date and signature whereas the IIT-G authorities have cited depression quoting the note "Hi mummy papa this is Tushar, I want to tell you about my story. I was in full depression over 2 months. It is worst".

 “This is the only document taken as proof of depression by the IIT authority.  Therefore, it creates a doubt in our minds as to who directed whom to search for the said note and under what circumstances.

Moreover the handwriting of the note and the handwriting of Tushar do not seem to match at all. The same needs to be investigated by the competent authorities,” alleged Tushar’s parents.  

 They find it utter surprising that there was no open injury, abrasion, contusion even after a fall from the height of more than 40 feet.  The post-mortem report merely states the cause of death to be “death due to damage to back bone”. The position and condition of his  body does not indicate as if he had jumped off from a height of 40 feet!

They rued that these circumstance suggest that this is not a case of suicide as it was maintained by Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati but there is something more sinister which has been brewing up at the Guwahati campus. 

- See more at: http://www.assamtimes.org/node/12540#sthash.8vc4c1eR.dpuf