Powai tech student found dead in suspected suicide

MUMBAI: A post-graduate diploma student with the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Powai, allegedly jumped to death from her hostel building in the campus on Thursday. Surabhi Gupta (23), a first-year student of Industrial Safety and Environment Management (ISEM) at the institute, reportedly took the extreme step minutes before her class. Powai police did not find any suicide note but suspect ‘academic pressure’ to be the cause. The first such known incident on the institute’s campus has shocked most students and teachers.
Gupta, originally from Chennai, allegedly jumped off the staircase window between the sixth and seventh floors of Gilbreth Hall, the girls’ hostel, at around 7.30am on Thursday. “The reason is not clear as no suicide note has been found. But we have been told she was to appear for an exam today. A sweeper who was near the hostel building saw her when she landed down,” said senior inspector Bhai Mahadeshwar.
At around 7.15am, Gupta and her two roommates left their room to go to their class, a few metres away from the hostel. “Gupta’s roommates (the two girls) said they did not find any difference in her behaviour before she took the extreme step. In their statement, they said after reaching the staircase Gupta asked them to go ahead as she had forgotten the room key. She told them she would meet them in class,” said police. Gupta had changed her clothes before jumping to death, police added.
A faculty member said Gupta’s brother also passed out from the same institute recently and is doing quite well. “We do not know if she set herself some academic targets and failed to meet them, or if it was a personal problem. We follow the quarterly pattern and hold a module-end exam every three months. The exam was slated to begin from August 26. It is unlikely that exam stress could be the reason behind her step, but we are not very sure,” said the member. Gupta’s brother was her local guardian in Mumbai, but was in Chandigarh on Thursday. The institute held a condolence meeting at around 4.45pm on the campus.
Police are recording statements of the college management and students and also sought CCTV records for clues. An official from the post mortem centre in Ghatkopar said the cause of death was haemorrhage and shock due to multiple injuries and the body will be preserved till her relatives arrive. Gupta joined the institute in June this year after quitting her job as a programme analyst with a multinational IT firm in Chennai. She completed her engineering degree from Anna University of Technology.