34-Year-Old Researcher From Odisha’s Cuttack Hangs Self In IIT-Kanpur Hostel Room

Kanpur: A 34-year-old research staff of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her second-floor hostel room, police said on Wednesday.

The deceased has been identified as Pallavi Chilka of Odisha’s Cuttack. She joined the IIT to pursue her postdoctoral research at the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering of the institute and had moved into hostel just three days back from a private rented accommodation.

According to reports, a cleaning staff first spotted Chilka hanging from the ceiling on Tuesday afternoon. “Police broke the door open and brought the body down,” Kalyanpur SHO Dhananjay Pandey told reporters.

Preliminary investigation suggested depression to be the cause behind the suicide, he added.

The Institute, in a press release, said:. “A promising young researcher, Chilka, joined the Institute to pursue her postdoctoral research. She was found dead in her hostel room on 19th December.”

“A police forensic team has visited the campus to review the reason for the death; the institute was awaiting the police investigation to determine the likely cause of the death. In her passing away, the institute has lost a young bright and promising researcher,” it added.

(With agency inputs)