Latest news with #RitamMondal
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Expert panel to interact with IIT-Kg students today
1 2 Kolkata: The external expert committee formed by IIT-Kharagpur to investigate the spate in suicide deaths on the campus will be arriving on Monday to interact with students. The expert committee, according to an internal IIT-Kgp student communication, "will be visiting our campus tomorrow and has expressed interest in directly engaging with students to gain deeper insights. They are specifically looking to interact with two groups: Students who have held or currently hold leadership roles, and students who are not currently in any official positions of responsibility." The interaction is scheduled to begin in the Senate Hall in IIT-Kgp at 9.30 am on Monday. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata A fourth-year mechanical engineering student, Ritam Mondal (21), was found hanging in his room at Rajendra Prasad Hall of Residence on Friday morning. This marks the fourth death in seven months and the fifth in a year that the premier institute has witnessed. The expert committee comprising psychologists, legal and police professionals, counsellors, educationists and alumni was formed after mother and brother of Aniket Walkar, the IIT fourth-year ocean engineering and naval architecture student who was found hanging in his room at J C Bose Hostel on April 20, had written to the IIT acting director Amit Patra, seeking an independent probe into the circumstances leading to his death and also urged authorities to find the reasons behind the large number of suicides at IIT-Kharagpur. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo IIT-Kharagpur's decision to form an independent experts' panel gains significance following the Supreme Court's March 24 directive to set up a National Task Force to examine the rising number of suicides at education institutes. A senior official said, "The director wanted the expert committee to interact with the students and identify the key challenges and recommend measures to bolster the mental health eco-system of the campus." In a press statement on May 10, the institute said that the committee will identify the key challenges such as inadequate resources, administrative shortfalls, academic environment and other factors that hinder the resolution of mental health issues in the campus and will recommend measures in addition to the existing ones to strengthen it. Bracing back-to-back suicides on the campus, the institute has already taken several measures. TOI has reported that IIT-Kharagpur authorities have decided to set up a student-led task force at the wing level of every hostel. This initiative aims to ensure that students themselves remain vigilant about their peers and can report any noticeable behavioural changes to the hall council and hall management committee for prompt action. The institute is scheduled to roll out a holistic intervention program combining cutting-edge Technology, super-specialized expert support, highly personalized interaction for the well-being of all students, with a mission of ensuring that such an incident never occurs again.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
IIT Kharagpur student found dead in hostel room; 4th death in 7 months
1 2 Kolkata/Kharagpur: A 21-year-old IIT Kharagpur fourth-year mechanical engineering student was found hanging in his room at Rajendra Prasad Hall on Friday morning, three days after he had returned to the institute after a two-month summer break. Police have initiated an investigation and the IIT has set up a five-member committee to probe the incident. This is the fourth unnatural death at the institute in the past seven months and fifth since June 2024. Ritam Mondal from Kolkata's Regent Park was pursuing a five-year dual-degree programme, and his fourth-year classes had began on Thursday. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Police said the student's body was discovered around 11.20 am by a hostel employee who received a call from Ritam's father, Uttam Mondal. "His father panicked after Ritam did not pick up his calls and contacted a hostel employee to check on his son. It was the hostel employee who found the student hanging and informed the security response team and administration," said a source. The security response team, medical team, director, senior administrative officials and cops reached the hostel and took the body to BC Roy hospital, where he was declared dead. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like How to Trade ETH/USD Without Holding Ether IC Markets Learn More Undo Ritam's distraught parents reached the institute in the afternoon. A student at the same hostel said Ritam had returned to his room after dinner on Thursday night and they had not noticed any abnormalities in his behaviour. He shared the hostel room with two other students, one from his own department and the other from chemical engineering, but they had not returned to the institute after the summer break. Police suspect Ritam died by suicide and preliminary inquiries suggest he may have had a tiff with his family. However, an official statement will only be issued after the autopsy at Midnapore Medical College Hospital on Saturday morning. "The exact cause will be understood only after the autopsy, which will be video-recorded," a district police officer said. A statement issued by IIT Kharagpur mourning the loss of a student said Ritam was known for his "academic diligence" and "gentle demeanour". As per records with the institute's SARTH counselling centre, there were no indicators of any mental health issue. The faculty adviser of his department also claimed there was no apparent academic and non-academic issue that had caught their attention. Ritam's CGPA was above 8, an official said. Director Suman Chakraborty said, "It is extremely distressing to lose a student. I have asked the fact-finding committee to provide a concrete and detailed report on the incident and the student after gathering information from the department, hostel, counselling centre and the hospital. The committee will also speak to hostel employees and friends to get information about the student because they often know more about a student informally than the administration. " He added that he had spoken to one of Ritam's room mates who returned on Friday morning to find out if anything was bothering him but was told that Ritam did not share his problems with them. Though Ritam's death initially appears to be unrelated to the institute, Chakraborty said there were lapses in the system that he was trying to address after taking charge as director. "The saddest part is before we could implement the holistic intervention programme for the well-being of students, yet another death has taken place on the campus." The last unnatural death of a student on the Kharagpur campus was on May 4 when a third-year civil engineering student, Mohammad Asif Qamar, was found hanging in his hostel room. The institute has in recent months introduced a slew of measures, including setting up an experts' panel to look into the cause of the string of suicides on the campus. **BOX** Ritam Mondal 21-year-old Pursuing dual degree at mechanical engineering dept Known for academic diligence and gentle demeanour Got CGPA above 8 Had a keen interest in coding, particularly pertaining to Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Known to have public speaking skills MSID:: 122767383 413 |
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
IIT-Kharagpur student found dead in hostel; 4th in 7 months
File photo KOLKATA/KHARAGPUR: A fourth-year mechanical engineering student of IIT-Kharagpur was found dead in his hostel room Friday morning, three days after he returned to the institute after a two-month summer break. Ritam Mondal, 21, from Kolkata was pursuing a five-year dual degree programme, and his classes had begun on Thursday. This is the fourth unnatural death at the institute in past seven months. Police have initiated an investigation and the IIT has set up a five-member panel to probe the incident. Police suspect Ritam died by suicide and preliminary inquiries suggest he might have had a tiff with his family. However, an official statement will only be issued after an autopsy at Midnapore Medical College Hospital on Saturday. 'The exact cause of death will be known after the autopsy,' a district police officer said. 'Ritam's father, Uttam Mondal, panicked after he did not pick his calls and contacted a hostel employee to check on his son. The employee found the student hanging,' said a source. The institute's security response and medical teams, director, senior administrative officials, and police officials reached the hostel. Ritam's parents arrived in the afternoon. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like AirSense 11 – Smart tech for deep sleep ResMed Buy Now Undo Another boarder said Ritam had returned to his room after dinner Thursday night and they had not noticed any abnormalities in his behaviour. He shared the hostel room with two other students, but they had not returned to the institute after the summer break. A statement issued by IIT-Kharagpur said as per records with the institute's Sarth counselling centre, there were no indicators of any mental health issue. The faculty adviser of his department also claimed there was no apparent academic or non-academic issue of concern. IIT-Kharagpur director Prof Suman Chakraborty said: 'I have asked a fact-finding panel to provide a concrete and detailed report on the incident after gathering information from the department, hostel, counselling centre and hospital. The committee will also speak to hostel employees and his friends.'
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
IIT Kharagpur student found dead in hostel room
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Kolkata: A fourth-year undergraduate student of the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) was found dead in his hostel room on Friday morning. Ritam Mondal was a student of Mechanical Engineering. He was found dead in his hostel room this administration has initiated the process of filing an FIR and the necessary actions as per law. The police have initiated an investigation into the incident, and the Institute is extending full cooperation to facilitate the process, the institute has constituted a fact-finding committee to examine the incident and report at the earliest.'With deep sorrow, the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur regrets to inform of the untimely demise of Ritam Mondal, a fourth-year undergraduate student of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Mondal was found deceased in his room at Rajendra Prasad Hall of Residence on the morning of July 18, 2025,' IIT-KGP authorities said in a Institute's security response team acted swiftly and reached the hostel premises. The Institute's medical team, the Director, senior administrative officials, and local police authorities arrived. Immediate communication was also made with Mondal's family, the institute has been learned that Mondal had recently returned to campus after the long summer vacation and resumed his classes.'As per the records reviewed from the Institute's SARTH Counselling Centre, there were no prior indicators of mental health concerns. The faculty advisor from the department also mentioned that there were no apparent academic or non-academic issues that caught their attention,' the Institute was known for his academic diligence and gentle demeanor. The Institute expresses its heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family and friends and stands committed to supporting them during this difficult Director, while expressing extreme distress as a parent-like individual at this shocking incident, reiterated that the Institute is already in the process of developing a holistic intervention program combining cutting-edge technology, super-specialized expert support, and highly personalised interaction for the well-being of all students, with a mission of ensuring that such an incident never occurs again.'As part of its continued efforts to support student well-being, the Institute confirms the availability of dedicated mental health and counselling services around the clock. Furthermore, IIT Kharagpur is set to launch a new AI-driven mental wellness initiative, SETU, on July 25, 2025, to enhance proactive mental health support for students,' IIT-KGP said in a statement.
NDTV
6 days ago
- NDTV
BTech Student Found Hanging In IIT Kharagpur Hostel Room, 4th Case Since Jan
Kolkata: A fourth-year student of B Tech was found hanging in his hostel room at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur campus on Friday, the fourth unnatural death case at the campus since January this year. Ritam Mondal (21), a student of mechanical engineering, was found hanging in his room at Rajendra Prasad (RP) Hall hostel building on the campus, an institute official told PTI. The student, who hailed from Kolkata, had retired to his room after dinner on Thursday night, and there was no abnormality in his behaviour, one of his hostelmates said. The IIT KGP official said that, as repeated knocks on his door did not evoke any response, in the morning, police at the outpost on the campus, accompanied by institute security guards, broke open the door at around 12 noon and found him hanging. The student's family has been informed, the official said. The student's death sent shockwaves through the campus. On January 12, third-year electrical engineering student Shaon Malik, was found hanging in his hostel room. On April 20, final-year student of Ocean Engineering Aniket Walker was found dead in similar conditions. On May 4, third-year B-Tech student Mohammad Asif Qamar was found dead in his hostel room. Apart from installing bar codes on the gates of every hostel room where the helpline number of counselling services can be scanned by a student in emotional stress at any hour, the institute recently launched a 'Campus Mothers' programme - women faculty and staff members act to mentor students emotionally.
