IIT graduate jumps to death: He didn’t want a 9-to-5 job, says friend of suicide victim

Ankit jumped from the 23rd floor of DLF Magnolias. (Photo by : Manoj Kumar)

“Suicide prevention” is among the causes that 26-year-old Ankit Wadhwa supported, according to his profile on social networking site LinkedIn. But on Sunday night, Ankit allegedly jumped to his death from the 23rd floor of an upscale condominium in Gurgaon.

Even as police go through his call records to ascertain events preceding his death, his relatives claimed he had been grappling with depression for over a year. While police suspect this could be the reason behind his death, they said they cannot confirm this in the absence of a suicide note.

According to police, Ankit’s body was discovered around 12 am on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. “His body was discovered by the concierge at DLF Magnolias. He had been living at his uncle’s house for the past week. He was in the city to give his GMAT examination,” said Gaurav Phogat, Station House Officer (SHO) of Sushant Lok police station.

Ankit, who hailed from Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, had quit his job as a senior analyst at JP Morgan Chase in Mumbai in March, hoping to study further. His father works in United Insurance Company.

A graduate of IIT-Kanpur, Ankit’s profiles on various social networking sites indicate he was a voracious reader — his reading list included Khushwant Singh to the autobiography of Margaret Thatcher, and comics such as Calvin and Hobbes, and Tintin.

According to police, Ankit’s body was discovered around 12 am on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.

His school friends, however, remember his passion for table tennis and squash. Ankit’s Twitter bio confirmed this — he described himself as an “agile-minded thinker, avid reader, marathon runner, passionate squash player”.

“He was very good at table tennis in school, as well as math and science. He retained these passions later in life as well. When I bumped into him at a fest at IIT-Kanpur a few years ago, he said he was very interested in economics and data analysis, but did not want to do a nine-to-five job. He was hoping to go abroad and do research,” said Malayamit, Ankit’s classmate from nursery to Class VI.

On Monday, police sent the body for post-mortem examination. His parents were informed and their statements were recorded. Dr Deepak Mathur, who conducted the autopsy, said, “There were multiple injuries on his body, including on his head. These appear to have cumulatively caused his death.”