IIT Kanpur professor dies of cardiac arrest while giving speech at alumni meet
A 55-year-old senior professor of IIT Kanpur died after he suffered a cardiac arrest while giving a speech at the university. One of his last words to the students was, "Take care of your health."
FollowA prominent IIT-Kanpur professor passed away after going into cardiac arrest while giving a talk at the institute's alumni reunion. Sameer Khandekar, 53, reportedly passed out on the dais on Friday while addressing the crowd, according to institution officials. The head of the mechanical engineering department and dean of student affairs, Khandekar was brought to the hospital right away and was pronounced dead when they arrived.
It is said that Khandekar had a high cholesterol diagnosis around five years ago. Khandekar was talking about ways to maintain good health and one of his last words to the students was, "Take care of your health." He experienced intense chest discomfort and began to perspire heavily while giving a lecture, as per the account of Abhay Karandikar, the former director of IIT-Kanpur. After some time, the professor's face began to sweat and collapsed on the stage.
Before anyone could make sense of what was happening, he collapsed on the stage, Karandikar added. Karandikar also expressed grief at the untimely passing of Khandekar, whom he praised as a superb researcher and teacher. He said the body has been kept at the IIT-Kanpur’s health centre and final rites would be performed only after the arrival of his only son Pravah Khandekar who is studying at Cambridge University.
He is survived by his parents, his wife and son. Born in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur, Khandekar did his B.Tech from IIT Kanpur and he went to Germany for his PhD. In 2004, he joined IIT Kanpur as an assistant professor, after which he became an associate professor.
