BENGALURU: A 23-year-old PhD student at the Indian Institute of Science ended his life by consuming some chemical in his room on Sunday. The incident came to light on Monday. The Sadashivanagar police recovered a suicide note which stated that he was under depression. The deceased has been identified as Rajashri Mukherjee, hailing from Kolkata.
A senior police officer said the incident occurred on Sunday evening when he was alone in his room. On Monday morning, his friends found his body and alerted the institute authorities. In his suicide note, Mukherjee stated that no one was responsible for his death and nobody should be harassed. “We have sent samples of the chemical to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis,” the police added.
His friends told the police that he was suffering from bipolar disorder and was being treated at NIMHANS. Based on a complaint from the institute management, a case of unnatural death has been registered and further investigations are on. The body was handed over to his family on Monday evening after the autopsy, the police said.
In a statement, the IISc said, “It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of a student by suicide. The student was pursuing a PhD from the Department of Organic Chemistry. We express our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the student. The mental health and well-being of our students and community members are of critical importance, especially given the prevailing Covid-19 situation. We strongly urge IISc community members to reach out to and seek help from the following facilities and mental health resources — 24x7 emergency call service for anyone needing to talk to a mental health professional; Phone number: 080-47113444.