CM: Exam stress behind deaths of 4 BITS Goa students shows cops’ probe

Panaji: The investigation by Goa police into five deaths at the BITS Pilani, Goa campus, revealed that four students allegedly died by suicide because they were stressed due to exams. It also revealed that one student was in depression because his girlfriend died by suicide.

The details of the investigation by Verna police on the deaths of five students between 2023 and 2025, were shared by CM Pramod Sawant.

“During the last three years, a total of five unnatural deaths were registered at Verna police station, wherein five students from BITS Pilani from the Sancoale campus died by suicide. All five cases occurred during the exam period, and the cases are under inquiry,” said Sawant.
“Video interaction with the parents of the students of the BITS Pilani Goa Campus who died by suicide was held with the chairperson of the district-level monitoring committee for South Goa, along with a representative of the directorate of higher education, the chief medical officer from the directorate of health services and the deputy superintendent of police, South Goa. It was held to gain more insights and ascertain the reason for the unfortunate deaths,” the CM, who also hold the education portfolio, said.


He added that a one-day health camp was organised by the directorate of health services at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus.

“The camp aimed to provide comprehensive physical and mental health screening and promote health care among students, faculty, and staff members of the institute, and to introduce TeleMANAS to the students,” Sawant said.

The chief minister said that a uniform mental health policy for higher education institutions in Goa has already been prepared and circulated to all higher education institutes registered under AISHE, including BITS Pilani Goa Campus, for compliance with instructions that the same shall be made publicly accessible on institutional websites and notice boards of the institutes.

Sawant said that, besides student deaths at BITS Pilani, two more students died by suicide. In the first case, a student appeared for his Class XII examination. Thereafter, his family members repeatedly observed him to be disturbed. In the second case, the student was under depression due to low marks obtained by him in mathematics.