HYDERABAD: The Indian Institute of Technology- Hyderabad on Saturday expressed astonishment over the death of two of its students by suicide, within a week. While Rahul Bingumalla was found hanging in his hostel room on August 30, Megh Kapoor jumped from a hotel on September 7 in Vijayawada where he was staying for the last two months.
A letter by IIT-H stated that Rahul, an MTech student, was at the beginning of the project and had about 10 months to complete it. “There is no need for him to feel the pressure,” the letter said. Megh, who had completed the tenure of BTech was not doing well academically during the pandemic. In the last one year, once the Covid restrictions were eased, the department started helping him significantly, and the student started getting very good SGPA of 7.5 and 8.3, respectively, the letter said.
The IIT-H runs a ‘Sunshine’ programme to identify students who appear to have difficulties and bring them to the notice of the counsellors, who then take over to help the students. There are three permanent counsellors employed by the IIT-H who stay on campus.
The institution explained that Rahul never showed any signs of depression while Megh started attending counselling sessions which he did not continue. The IIT-H assured that it has been trying its best to support students facing academic difficulties. “The faculty advisers are constantly in touch with the students, particularly those who are not doing very well,” the letter said.