Jitesh Sharma, a third-year chemical engineering student in IIT-B, committed suicide by consuming poison on Saturday on the terrace of one of the hostels that is located on the campus. While a suicide note has been recovered from the student’s room, neither the institute nor the police are divulging its contents. According to students living in the hostel where Sharma lived, he was under pressure due to the Failing Rates (FR) and had also failed to secure internship; hence he could have taken the drastic step.
According to IIT students, they came to know about Sharma’s death through social messaging applications. However, the fact that he committed suicide in another hostel has baffled all of them.
“Jitesh’s room was in hostel 8. Though he was not doing well in his studies he used to take active part in other extra curricular activities,” said another third-year chemical engineering student. The student added that Jitesh had not fared well in the previous semester and was worried about getting FRs in the recently concluded exams also.
“His name did not feature in the internship list. That coupled with the FRs could have caused him to go into depression and take the extreme step,” said another student.
Third-year students said that after Jitesh was nowhere to be seen, his friends went searching for him and after being told that he was seen going towards hostel 15 they went to look for him there. “Messages on the students’ group on Whatsapp say that Jitesh’s friends found him on the terrace of hostel 15 frothing from the mouth. They rushed him to a local hospital where he was declared dead,” said another student. The student added that everyone was debating as to why Jitesh went to hostel 15, which is meant for freshmen, to commit suicide.
The police confirmed that Jitesh had consumed some poisonous substance. His parents also came to Mumbai from Rohtak after they were informed of their son’s death on Saturday.
