KOCHI: Even as the shock over the suicide of a student at Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) a week ago continues to linger, another student from the same institution was found dead at her rented accommodation in Kalamassery on Thursday afternoon.
The deceased is Darshana Sudharshan, 21, a fourth-year civil engineering student and a resident of Puthuvype. The incident came to light around noon when her roommates returned from campus and found her unresponsive, said a source with Kochi city police.
Darshana, who was scheduled to appear for a supplementary examination earlier that morning, had not attended the session.
When her friends found the room locked from inside and received no response to repeated knocks, they looked through the keyhole and noticed her lying motionless. They then broke open the door and rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was declared brought dead, the official added.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Darshana had been struggling with exam arrears, which reportedly resulted in a ‘year-out’ status. This academic distress may have played a significant role in the incident, said an officer with the Kalamassery police.
“Though technically in her fourth year, she was academically a year behind and had not informed her family about her failed papers. Wednesday was the farewell day for her original batchmates, who were completing their course and leaving campus.
The emotional strain of missing her exams, along with seeing her peers graduate while she remained behind, may have lead to the extreme step,” said the officer.
Following the incident, a case of unnatural death has been registered under the BNSS based on a statement from her father, and a detailed investigation has been initiated. The post-mortem examination is scheduled for Friday to ascertain the exact cause of death. The police also confirmed that no suicide note was recovered from the spot.
In a similar incident earlier, a 21-year-old youth — a sixth-semester electrical and electronics engineering student of the School of Engineering and a native of Kumarapuram in Alappuzha — was found hanging in his rented accommodation in Kalamassery on April 22. His death was suspected to be linked to a shortage of attendance for his semester examinations.
