Jharkhand Phd scholar commits suicide

Chennai,Jan 2:

A woman PhD scholar of IIT Madras from Jharkhand allegedly committed suicide in her hostel room, police said Tuesday.

According to a student, the scholar, who belonged to the metallurgy department, locked herself up in her room in Sabarmati hostel two days ago.

A senior police officer told PTI that they got a call from the institute about the incident Tuesday evening, adding that “foul smell was emanating, indicating that the extreme step might not have been taken today.”

An investigation is on, the officer said, declining to divulge further information.

IIT Madras has around 18 hostels in the campus.

The premier institute in Chennai has witnessed several suicides in the last couple of years.

In September last year, a final year student of IIT-Madras allegedly committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling of his room. 23-year-old Shahul Kornath, from Malappuram in Kerala, was doing a dual degree programme in naval architecture. No suicide note was found in that case either.

In July 2016, another woman research scholar at IIT-Madras allegedly committed suicide in her hostel room. The same day, the wife of a professor at the institute was found hanging in the family’s room inside the campus. Both the women were mothers of young children.