IIT Kanpur Student Suicide: Ministry of Education Forms 3-Member Probe Committee, Orders Review of Guidelines

New Delhi – In response to the recent student suicide at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, the Ministry of Higher Education has taken swift action by constituting a three-member committee to investigate the institution's mental health mechanisms and review compliance with national guidelines. The panel, headed by Prof. Anil D. Sahastrabudhe (Chairperson, NETF), will include Dr. Jitendra Nagpal (Senior Psychiatrist, Moolchand Hospital) and a Joint Secretary from the Ministry of Education.

The committee is mandated to submit its report within 15 days, focusing on the implementation of the July 2023 "Framework Guidelines for Emotional and Mental Wellbeing of Students in Higher Education Institutions," an assessment of counseling services, grievance redressal systems, and support frameworks, as well as recommendations to prevent future suicides.

The Ministry emphasized that student mental health remains its top priority, highlighting ongoing initiatives such as faculty capacity-building programs on mental health, annual National Wellbeing Conclaves, promotion of best practices, and stakeholder engagement to build a supportive campus ecosystem. The probe will specifically examine the circumstances of suicides at IIT Kanpur, including the availability and effectiveness of institutional support.

The mental health crisis at IIT Kanpur has reached alarming proportions, with nine student suicides reported on campus over the past two years, the highest among India's 23 IITs. The most recent tragedy occurred on January 21, when 25-year-old PhD scholar Ramswroop Ishram from Churu, Rajasthan, jumped to his death from the sixth floor of the New SBRA hostel. Ishram, who joined the Department of Earth Sciences in July 2023, had been battling depression and schizophrenia and was receiving counseling at the institute's health center.

In a heartbreaking detail, his three-months-pregnant wife and three-year-old daughter witnessed the incident, compounding the family's devastation. Prior to this, BTech student Jai Singh Meena took his own life by hanging in December 2025. Nationally, at least 30 IIT students have died by suicide in the same period, with Kanpur accounting for one-third of the cases far exceeding IIT Kharagpur's seven, despite the latter having 1.5 times the student population.