A 20-year-old first-year BTech student at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-A), who was hearing and speech-impaired, died by suicide late Saturday night by jumping from the fifth floor of his hostel building in Prayagraj.
According to the police, no suicide note was found on the spot but a preliminary probe suggested that the student, Rahul was upset after he failed in an examination. The institute said a committee has been formed to probe the incident and directed to submit a report within seven days.
"Upon receiving information, a police team rushed to the spot and took him to the hospital where he succumbed to injuries," Dhoomanganj Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ajendra Yadav said.
Rahul's mother, Swarnalatha, shared that her last interaction with her son was on Saturday night when he sent her a message asking her to take care of his younger brother and father. Concerned by the message, she tried calling him, but his phone was switched off. She then contacted one of his friends, who went to check on him.
"I got scared on seeing the message and called him but his phone was off. Then I called his friend who went to check on him. His friend asked another student who was passing by about Rahul's whereabouts. He then abruptly disconnected the call. He called me 10 minutes later, saying my son is being taken to the hospital," NDTV quoted her as saying.
His mother said that she came to know about the suicide on reaching the campus on Sunday afternoon. She said the institute informed her that he had skipped classes for six months. "But the administration never informed us anything about this earlier," she said.
Rahul was a bright student who secured an All-India Rank (AIR) of 52 in the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category in the JEE Mains exam last year. Despite being unable to speak, he often communicated with her through video calls, his mother said.
Rahul’s father operates a tiffin business in Telangana. He was the elder of two sons. Swarnalatha explained that Rahul’s routine mainly consisted of studying, watching television, and browsing his phone. “He didn’t like going out much. We attended speech therapy sessions to help us communicate better,” she said.
“On Thursday night, he had asked for Rs 500, which I had sent him,” she added.
"Legal action is being taken, and peace and order are being maintained at the location," the police official stated.
In a statement, IIIT Allahabad announced the formation of a three-member committee to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the incident. The panel consists of Director-in-Charge GC Nandi, Professor OP Vyas, and Dean Pawan Chakraborty (SA). The committee has been instructed to submit its report within a week.
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