PhD scholar orders rope online, hangs self at IIT-Kanpur hostel room

KANPUR: A 28-year-old PhD student at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) was found dead in her hostel room on Thursday. This is the fourth such case in the last one year.

Pragati Kharya, who was pursuing a doctorate in Earth Sciences, ended her life by hanging herself from the ceiling hook, police said.

An official privy to the investigation said that the rope from which she committed suicide had been ordered online. "The packet in which the rope was delivered was found in a corner of the room. The police have taken it into custody," he said.

On Thursday morning, when she did not come to attend the class, her friends contacted her on her mobile but after several attempts, there was no response.

Subsequently, her hostel mates informed the IIT-K authorities, who in turn alerted the police.

Police said it has retrieved a suicide note, in which she held no one accountable for her drastic action.

A mobile phone was also found, which might assist the police in their investigation.

The body has been sent for post-mortem examination, and Kharya's family members have arrived on the IIT-K campus.

In a statement, IIT-K said with profound grief it mourns the tragic and untimely demise of Kharya.

"The institute is awaiting the results of the police investigation to ascertain the cause. With Pragati Kharya's passing, the institute has lost a promising young researcher. The institute extends its deepest sympathies and prays for strength and solace to her family and friends in this time of immense loss," the statement read.

Assistant commissioner of police, Kalyanpur, Abhishek Pandey said, "After receiving information about the suicide, police rushed there and found the door of Pragati's room was locked from inside. After breaking open the door, they found Pragati's body suspended from the ceiling fan."

Deputy commissioner of police (west) Rajesh Kumar Singh said a forensic team was summoned to collect the evidence.

Pragati's brother Satyam said that she was normal when he talked to her on the phone in the morning. "We had no idea that she would take such an extreme step like this," he added.

On Jan 18, Priyanka Jaiswal, 29, PhD student in Chemical Engineering, allegedly ended her life in her hostel room. On Jan 11, M.Tech second-year student Vikas Kumar Meena, 31, allegedly hanged himself in his hostel room after being temporarily prohibited from continuing his course. On Dec 19, postdoctoral researcher Pallavi Chilka, 34, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her hostel room.


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