IIT-Kanpur student found hanging in hostel room

KANPUR: A 35-year-old researcher of IIT-Kanpur was found hanging in her hostel room on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Dr Pallavi Chilka of department of biological sciences and bioengineering, IIT-Kanpur and a native of Odisha.

Kalyanpur police said that Pallavi Chilka, daughter of Madhusudan Shetty of Cuttack in Odisha, was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her hostel room. On being informed, police along with the forensic team reached the site and initiated investigations. The police have sent the body for postmortem examination.

The institute ahs informed Pallavi’s parents, who had left for Kanpur and are expected to reach here by Wednesday.

Additional deputy commissioner of police Akash Patel said that this appears to be a case of suicide, however, the postmortem report will ascertain the exact cause of researcher’s death. Meanwhile, IIT-Kanpur issued a statement on Tuesday saying that the institute mourns the untimely demise of the research staff member Pallavi Chilka. Pallavi joined the institute to pursue her postdoctoral research. The institute has lost a bright and promising young researcher, said IIT-K.