Final-year IIT Kharagpur student found hanging in hostel room; 3rd campus death in 10 months

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A fourth-year undergraduate student was found hanging in his room at IIT-Kharagpur’s JC Bose Hall of Residence on Sunday evening. The student, Aniket Walkar, 22, hailed from Maharashtra’s Gondia district and was pursuing a dual degree in Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture.

Aniket’s end-semester exams were to commence on Monday.

This marks the second student death on campus this semester and the third in under a year. Shaon Malik, a 21-year-old electrical engineering student in January, and Devika Pillai, a biotechnology student, in June.

The institute rescheduled Monday’s examination to April 26 in a gesture to offer condolence. Acting Director Amit Patra shared, “He was a good student and had bagged an internship too. It is a tremendous loss for the institute. The student’s mental health issues were identified, and an effort was made to address it, but unfortunately, it did not bear fruit.”

Friends and classmates were left stunned. “He was academically sound and a nine-pointer. His on-campus placement was scheduled to start in July but he already had a job offer, probably off-campus, and was extremely happy. He threw a party for friends on Friday. On Saturday, he texted his friends and had a normal chat about the end semester beginning on Monday,” said a student.

Campus authorities were first alerted when Aniket didn’t respond to calls or open his room’s door for an unusually long time. Concern quickly escalated, and by 8pm, police were informed. They broke into his room to find Aniket hanging from the ceiling fan. He was rushed to BC Roy Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. The body was later moved to Kharagpur Sub-Divisional Hospital and eventually to Midnapore Medical College for post-mortem, scheduled for Tuesday.

In an official statement, IIT-Kharagpur expressed deep sorrow, “The campus community was devastated with the untimely demise.” Authorities confirmed that security and medical teams had acted swiftly, and a formal investigation is now underway with full cooperation from the institute.

A senior police official said, “The investigation has begun. The hostel room has been sealed. Although the exact cause of death is still unknown, it is initially believed to be suicide. Primary investigation reveals he was suffering from depression.”