Kolkata: Amid growing concerns over a spate of student suicides at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, Director Suman Chakraborty has voiced deep alarm over what he termed as the “marketing” of student deaths, especially on social media.

Addressing the issue on Thursday, Chakraborty said that the institute is taking steps to improve mental health support for students.

“IIT Kharagpur has at least 16,000 students. The crisis seen among them was not created by the IIT, it was created by the education and social system of our time. By the time a student enters IIT after cracking JEE, a mindset of earning a crores-worth job is already developed within them. They begin to think that life is worthless if they don’t earn a seven-figure salary. However, to change this mindset, we cannot afford to hire counsellors for everyone. This is a social malaise, and everyone must step in to bring an end to this,” he said. 

He continued, “I don't know why, but it seems to me that this issue of suicide has now turned into marketing. For the students, this is now like a glamorous story. Recently, I received a WhatsApp message. In it, a student wrote, 'I thought I would attempt suicide today. But I saw that he (someone else) has already done it!' As a result, suicide now seems to have turned into marketing/commercialisation,” he said, as reported by Anandabazar Patrika. 

A troubling year: Six deaths, five by suicide

IIT Kharagpur, one of India's oldest and most prestigious engineering institutions, has seen six unnatural deaths on campus since January 2025. Of these, five have been confirmed as suicides, raising urgent concerns about student mental health.

Here’s a timeline of the incidents:

  • January: Shaon Malik, a third-year Electrical Engineering student, died by suicide.
  • April: Aniket Walker, a final-year Ocean Engineering student, was found dead under similar circumstances.
  • May: Mohammad Asif Qamar (22), a third-year Civil Engineering student, was found hanging in his room.
  • July: Ritam Mondal (21), a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering student, also died by suicide.
  • July (non-suicide): Chandradeep Pawar (19), died after choking on a cold medicine tablet at Nehru Hall.
  • September: Harsh Kumar Pandey (24), a PhD scholar in Mechanical Engineering, was found hanging in BR Ambedkar Hall.

Since taking charge in June 2025, Director Chakraborty has initiated multiple steps aimed at supporting student well-being, including the launch of the SETU app, which facilitates mental health support and communication between students and faculty. IANS