PhD student at IIT-Kanpur hangs herself in hostel room
Kanpur (UP), Jan 18: A 29-year-old PhD student at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, allegedly ended her life by hanging herself from the ceiling fan of her room here on Thursday, police said.
This was the third case of suicide at the IIT-Kanpur campus in a month.
A native of Jharkhand's Dumka, Priyanka Jaiswal, who was pursuing a PhD in Chemical engineering, got admission to the institute on December 29 last year.
Talking to PTI over the phone, Additional DCP (West) Akash Patel said they received information about the suicide around 1 pm. Upon reaching the spot, they found the door of Jaiswal's room was locked from inside and broke it open to find her body hanging from the ceiling fan.
A forensic team has been called to the spot, Patel said. Jaiswal's hostel mates had informed IIT-Kanpur authorities who later called the police.
Possible reasons behind Jaiswal's suicide will only be revealed after a preliminary probe and completing other formalities, the DCP said.
In a statement, IIT-Kanpur said, "With profound grief, IIT Kanpur mourns the untimely and unfortunate demise of a PhD student Priyanka Jaiswal, who joined the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Institute last month (December 2023). She was found dead in her hostel room this afternoon."
"A police forensic team visited the campus to review the reason for the death. The Institute is awaiting the police investigation to determine the likely cause of the death. With Ms. Priyanka's passing away, the Institute lost a bright and promising young student," it said.
On January 11, Vikas Kumar Meena (31), a second-year M.Tech student of the institute, allegedly hanged himself from the ceiling fan in his hostel room, reportedly after being "temporarily" barred from continuing with his course.
On December 19, postdoctoral researcher Pallavi Chilka (34) hanged herself from the ceiling fan of her second-floor hostel room on the campus.
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Kapil Dev advocates balanced approach to players' families on tours
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI): Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev is all for family travelling with cricketers on tours but has also called for a balanced approach in dealing with the contentious issue that has divided opinions.
Following India’s 1-3 Test series loss to Australia, the BCCI issued a directive limiting the duration of family visits on tours lasting more than 45 days, allowing a maximum of 14 days of family time.
For shorter tours, players could bring their families for a maximum of one week.
"Well, I don’t know, that’s individual. I think it’s the cricket board’s call," said the 1983 World Cup-winning captain, speaking on the sidelines of the 'Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational' event.
"My view is, yes, you need family. But you also need a team, all the time."
During the recently-concluded Champions Trophy, players like Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami had their families with them in Dubai but did not stay at the team hotel. The expenses for their stay were borne by the players, not the BCCI.
"In our time, we used to say to ourselves — not by the cricket board — that the first half of the tour should be cricket, and in the second half, the family should come and enjoy it too. It should be a blend," said Kapil, who currently serves as the President of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).
Kohli, on Sunday, had expressed his support for the presence of players’ families on tours, stating he would always prefer having personal support around him to help navigate tough and intense days on the field, rather than being isolated in his hotel room.
