IIT-Kharagpur student dies after falling from campus building

An 18-year-old student died after allegedly falling from the third floor of a building at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, on Thursday (August 13, 2026).

The second-year mechanical engineering student, who hailed from Rajasthan, had been staying at the Gokhale Hall hostel on the campus. He reportedly went to attend a class at the Nalanda complex on Thursday afternoon. Around 3 p.m., a member of the institute’s cleaning staff found him lying with serious injuries on the ground in front of the building. He was rushed to the campus hospital, where he was declared dead.

“The death is unnatural. Prima facie, he fell from the third floor of the Nalanda complex. We are investigating what exactly happened. We are also speaking to his friends and faculty to understand if there was any change in his behaviour. No note was found among his belongings,” said Bushara Bano, Additional Superintendent of Police, Kharagpur Division.

The body was handed over to the family members after an autopsy on Friday.

Student deaths

This is the third such death involving engineering students at the institute this year. On April 18, a 22-year-old fourth-year M.Tech. (integrated dual degree programme) student of Electronics and Electrical Communication was found dead in his room at the Madanmohan Malaviya Hostel. On April 28, a 21-year-old third-year mechanical engineering student died after falling from the terrace of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hall of Residence.

In 2025, at least seven student deaths were reported at IIT-Kharagpur, five of which were confirmed as suicides.

In May last year, the Supreme Court sought a report on student deaths and asked whether an FIR had been registered. The court had questioned the rising number of suicides at the institute and in the coaching hub of Kota.

Campus mother programme

Following the rise in mental health issues and student deaths, the institute established an integrated mental health support system and a 10-member committee comprising psychologists, legal professionals, counsellors, alumni and educationists.

Director Suman Chakraborty also launched a ‘campus mother’ programme and an AI-driven student welfare app, HEART. However, experts have criticised the ‘campus mother’ initiative as a “gendered” and “surface-level intervention”.

(People in distress or having suicidal thoughts can seek counselling by calling the suicide prevention helpline: DISHA – 0471-2552056, 1056).