Researcher found dead at IIT-Kharagpur, fifth suspected case of suicide this year
Kolkata (PTI): The body of a researcher was found hanging from the ceiling of his hostel room in IIT-Kharagpur on Saturday, in the fifth suspected case of suicide at the premier institute this year, officials said.
Harshkumar Pandey (27), a resident of Ranchi, was found dead in his room at the BR Ambedkar Hall around 2 pm, they said.
Pandey was pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, they added.
"His parents could not reach him on the phone, and the door of his room was locked from the inside. Subsequently, police were informed, and they broke into the room to find his body hanging from the ceiling," an IIT-Kharagpur spokesperson said.
With this, a total of five students have died by hanging themselves at the institute since January.
The last such incident happened on July 18, when Ritam Mondal, a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering student, was found dead in his hostel room at the Rajendra Prasad Hall.
Apart from them, a student died after choking on a pill on July 21. Chandradip Pawar, who hailed from Madhya Pradesh, was a second-year student of Electrical Engineering.
To deal with the increasing number of suicides on the campus, the IIT-Kharagpur took a slew of initiatives for students to deal with stress.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
