BHUBANESWAR: A third year BTech student of IIT-Bhubaneswar died after falling from the fifth floor of the administrative building of the institute late Tuesday. Police suspect it was a suicide, but are waiting for the postmortem report to provide concrete answers, reports Hemanta Pradhan. The student, Kritika Raj from Delhi, was undergoing treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder, a senior police officer said.
“She had skipped a semester examination recently due to ill health.She had gone home seven days ago and returned to the institute three days ago,” said inspector in-charge of Jatni police station, Soumyakanta Baliarsingh.
According to IIT officials, security personnel noticed the student immediately after the fall. “They alerted the administration and took her to the institute’s medical centre, where the doctor pronounced her dead. Police were informed immediately after the incident,” said an official. Baliarsingh said the fifth floor of the administrative building housed the institute’s library that remained open till 2 am. “The student tried to go to the rooftop of the building, but the gate was locked,” he said.