'Sorry, not good enough': IIT Madras student posts status before hanging self

A 32-year PhD student of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, committed suicide by hanging at his residence at Velachery in Chennai. the police said. The deceased, Sachin Kumar Jain, was a native of West Bengal and was a PhD Research scholar from the Mechanical Engineering Department.

Police said that on March 31, he had put a WhatsApp status: "I am Sorry, not good enough."


"His friends reached home upon seeing this and found him hanging in the room. An ambulance was called and he was pronounced dead on examination. Further investigation is underway," police said. Demands have begun for conducting mental health surveys among the students in the premier institution.

Police said Sachin had gone to IIT-Madras as usual on Friday morning. However, he returned to his rented home that he shared with two others around 11.30 am without informing anyone in class. Soon after he arrived home, he updated his phone status. Some of his friends who noticed this rushed to his classroom to check on him. They found the door was latched from the inside. The students broke open the door to find him hanging from a ceiling fan. The Velachery police registered a case

IIT Madras has issued a statement expressing condolence over the death.

"We are deeply anguished to convey the untimely passing away of a PhD Research scholar from the Mechanical Engineering Department on the afternoon of 31st March 2023 at his residence at Velachery, Chennai. A student with an exemplary academic and research record is a big loss to the research community," the IIT said.

"The Institute expresses its heartfelt condolences and shares the grief of the friends and family of the deceased student. The Institute requests everyone respect the privacy of the student's family at this difficult juncture. May the departed soul rest in peace," it added.

Earlier on March 14, a third-year BTech student died by suicide (hanging) at the Madras IIT Campus. The deceased was identified as Vaipu Pushpak Sree Sai (20), a native of Andhra Pradesh.

On February 14, a research scholar from Maharashtra hanged himself in a room inside the IIT campus. (With Agency Inputs)