Kanpur- On Thursday October 10, a PhD student from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Pragati Kharya, was found dead in her hostel room, marking the fourth student suicide in the institute this year.

Pragati, a PhD candidate in Earth Sciences, was a resident of Sanigawan, Kanpur, and had joined the program in December 2021. Her lifeless body was discovered by hostel mates in room D-116 of Hall-4, and the administration immediately alerted the police after being informed.

In a statement, IIT Kanpur expressed deep sorrow over the incident: "With profound grief, IIT Kanpur mourns the tragic and untimely demise of Ms. Pragati Kharya. The institute has lost a promising young researcher and extends its deepest condolences to her family and friends."

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Rajesh Kumar Singh, and Assistant CP (Kalyanpur), Abhishek Pandey, confirmed that forensic teams were involved in gathering evidence, while her mobile phone was also seized to help probe any possible reasons behind the suicide. The body was sent for post-mortem, and her family has since arrived on campus.

Pragati's death adds to a series of tragic suicides at the institute this year.

Earlier, in January 2024, Priyanka Jaiswal, a 29-year-old PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering, was found dead in her hostel room, similarly locked from the inside.

Another student, M.Tech second-year student Vikas Kumar Meena (31), committed suicide on January 11, reportedly after being temporarily barred from continuing his course.

In December 2023, Pallavi Chilka, a 34-year-old research scholar from Odisha, also ended her life by hanging herself in her hostel room.

Past Suicides at IIT Kanpur and Across IITs

The suicides at IIT Kanpur are part of a larger and concerning trend across Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

A Right to Information (RTI) query revealed that over the past five years (2019-2024), 37 students from 11 of the 23 IITs died by suicide. The institutes most affected were IIT Hyderabad and IIT Madras, which each reported seven suicides.

IIT Delhi reported six suicides, IIT-BHU had four, and both IIT Kanpur and IIT Kharagpur reported three. According to the RTI, 12 IITs, including those in Goa, Jammu, Bhilai, and Patna, reported no suicides.

Former Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar, addressed the issue in the Rajya Sabha in 2023, acknowledging that factors like academic pressure, personal issues, family troubles, and mental health concerns are major contributors to the suicides. Despite the prominence of the IITs as prestigious educational institutions, they are grappling with an alarming rise in mental health challenges among their students.

In recent years, the academic community has called for stronger mental health support systems at IITs, urging institutions to prioritize student well-being. While IITs have initiated efforts to provide counseling and mental health services, experts argue that much more needs to be done to ease academic stress and build supportive environments for students, especially those in rigorous PhD programs.

With three suicides reported at IIT Kanpur in 2024 alone, the administration is facing growing pressure to address the root causes of these tragedies.

11 suicides reported in last 10 months (6 females, 5 males; 6 UGs, 5 PGs)

9th Oct - IIT Kanpur student (PhD, Earth Science, Female)

9th Sep - IIT Guwahati student (BTech, CSE, Male)

3rd Sep - IIT Bhubaneswar (BTech, Materials, Female)

9th Aug - IIT Guwahati student (MTech, Electronics, Female)

17th Jun - IIT Kharagpur student (BTech, Biosciences, Female)

10th Apr - IIT Guwahati student (BTech, Computer Science, Male)

15th Feb - IIT Delhi student (MTech, Polymer, Male)

12th Feb - IIT Roorkee student (BTech, Biosciences, Female)

1st Feb - IIT BHU student (BArch, Male)

18th Jan - IIT Kanpur student (PhD, Chemical, Female)

10th Jan - IIT Kanpur student (MTech, Aerospace, Male)