Overview

• Aniket Walkar, a 22-year-old final-year student in Ocean Engineering, was found dead in his hostel room on April 20, with police suspecting suicide pending post-mortem confirmation.
• This marks the second student death at IIT Kharagpur in 2025 and the fourth over the past three years, raising serious concerns about mental health on campus.
• IIT Kharagpur has postponed a major exam from April 21 to April 26 and urged students to utilize on-campus counselling services following the incident.
• Faculty members have reiterated their demand for the appointment of a permanent director, linking leadership gaps to insufficient student welfare initiatives.
• The institute has faced criticism for limited counselling resources, with only a handful of counsellors available to support its 17,000 students.