NITK student ends life by jumping off sixth floor

Mangaluru: There was a flash protest by hundreds of engineering students at NITK, Surathkal, after a third year mechanical engineering student allegedly ended his life by jumping off from the sixth floor of the department.
The protesting students have blamed one of the professors from the mechanical engineering department, who they said was “academically strict,” which caused the victim to take the extreme step.

The incident took place on Saturday, when the institution was closed. The victim has been identified as Anand Pathak, 20, who hails from Maharashtra. He jumped off from the mechanical department building around 2.30pm. He died on the spot.

Around 8pm, a large number of students had gathered at the administrative block. According to sources, the protesting students alleged that victim Anand took extreme step due to the strict professor, who did not allow him to appear for an examination as he was short on attendance.

A case of unnatural death was registered at the Surathkal police station in this regard. Sources from the police department who conducted the inquiry have pointed out that it’s a case of suicide, and said the professor had no role in this.

A police officer, who was investigating the case, on condition of anonymity, said that victim belonged to Maharashtra and was under medication for depression. His parents work in high-profile positions in his hometown, and he is survived by a brother, who is an IT engineer.

“As there was suspicions about his death, we had waited for the arrival of the victim’s parents. After they landed in Surathkal, we took them to the spot and asked them if they suspected anything foul. The parents too thought that it was a suicide, and they have not accused anyone for his death, and refused to file any complaint,” a source said.

The source added that the department had put up the attendance status of every student on the notice board on Saturday. The victim had only 73 per cent attendance and was denied permission to write the exam due to shortage in attendance. He was supposed to answer an examination on Monday.

The body of Anand Pathak was handed over to the family after a postmortem on Sunday afternoon.

“The incident took place on a non-working day at the campus. The NITK, Surathkal, institution’s internal committee as well police are probing the incident. Based on the reports submitted by them, the next step will be decided,” said Karanam Uma Maheshwar Rao, director, NIT-K, Surathkal