BENGALURU: A 22-year-old IISc MTech student ended his life by hanging at the institute’s hostel following relationship issues on Thursday. He had left a suicide note. This is the second suicide reported on the IISc campus this month.
The deceased has been identified as Gopal Mandal, a second-year MTech student at IISc. He was staying in the hostel and was a native of West Bengal.
According to the police, Gopal is suspected to have taken the extreme step on Wednesday night by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in his hostel room. On Thursday morning, around 7.30 am, fellow students and hostel authorities found him hanging and alerted the police. The police inspected the spot and shifted the body for post-mortem examination.
They also found a suicide note in which Gopal allegedly stated that he had been in a relationship with a girl since school days and that differences had led to breakup, which led him to take the extreme step, the police said. A case of unnatural death has been registered at the Sadashivanagar police station.
In a statement issued on Friday, IISc said, “We are extremely saddened to announce the death of an IISc MTech student by suicide on 20 August 2026.
We express our heartfelt condolences to the student’s family and friends. Our deepest sympathies are with them during this difficult time. We are committed to ensuring that the IISc campus is a safe and inclusive space for everyone.”
On August 6, a 19-year-old student at the institute was found dead in his hostel room. The deceased, Rakshan, hailing from Chikkaballapura, was pursuing BTech in Mathematics and Computing and had been staying on the campus for the last two years.
HELPLINE
If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050,
Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or Call, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.