If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers (www.spif.in/seek-help/) they can call to speak in confidence. You could also accompany them to the nearest hospital.
On Tuesday, a third-year student at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad, committed suicide at the Kandi campus located within the Sangareddy rural limits. The student, as identified by police, Siddharth Pichikala, was a 20-year-old student of Computer Science Engineering at the college.
This is the third case of suicide at the campus this year.
The police told the News Minute that the student sent an email to his friend and jumped off the hostel building at around 3.30 am. Soon after, friends and hostel staff rushed him to a private hospital where he took his last breath.
According to the suicide note, the student took the extreme step due to depression, the Times of India reported.
“Life rather seems depressing. Never ending strands of misfortune to an extent that I mentally couldn’t tolerate it. I have no clue how my future is going to be. I have been feeling this for the past two months,” reads the email.
He also mentioned the constant self-criticism which he wasn’t able to do away with. “There is a critic within me questioning every move to the extent that I feel I shouldn’t exist. Yes, I shouldn’t exist because I’m a self-obsessed guy. I was brought up that way, being compared to my peers all the time,” the note said.
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On the same day, the administration issued a statement expressing condolence to the family and friends of the deceased. “It is with deep grief and sadness that IIT-Hyderabad has to inform the passing away of a third-year BTech student today (October 29, 2019). IIT Hyderabad faculty, staff and students extend their deepest condolence to the family, friends and other near and dear ones of the deceased student. This is indeed an irreparable loss for the institute and the family. May his soul rest in peace,” read the statement.
This year, in February, another third-year student, Anirudhya Mummaneni, ended his life. Later in July, 20-year-old Mark Andrew Charles killed himself in his hostel room. In his suicide note, Andrew had said that he was not happy with his academic performance, the News Minute reported.
According to a report by The Print, students at IIT-Hyderabad students allege the lack entertainment facilities in the new campus as the main reason behind suicides. The academic pressure too, as students told the publication, is also one of the many reasons.
“The new campus has single rooms for students that are designed according to International standards, providing a lot of space and privacy. In a different scenario, this would be a great thing but one must understand that Indian kids are not used to living by themselves and that kind of space might prove negative,” a PhD student at the college told The Print.
In the present case, the police have registered a case and an investigation is underway.
Featured image credit: IIT Hyderabad official website