The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur witnessed yet another unusual death on Saturday when the body of a researcher was found hanging in one of the hostels, marking the sixth unnatural death at the institute this year.
Police recovered the body of Harshkumar Pandey, 27, from BR Ambedkar Hall at around 2 pm. Harshkumar, a resident of Bariatu area in Ranchi, Jharkhand, had been pursuing his PhD at IIT Kharagpur after completing his BTech from Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology and MTech from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology.
According to IIT sources, Harshkumar’s father, Manoj Kumar Pandey, contacted the institute’s security personnel after failing to reach his son by phone. Security staff found Harshkumar’s room locked, prompting them to inform the police.
The body was sent to BC Roy Hospital, where doctors confirmed the death. Police have launched an investigation into the incident.
This year alone, six unnatural deaths have been reported at IIT Kharagpur, five of which involved hanging. The most recent was on July 21, when Chandradeep Pawar, a second-year Electrical Engineering student from Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, died after choking on medication.
As of Saturday evening, IIT officials had not commented on the latest incident.
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