Tragedy Strikes Again: Second Suicide at NIT Silchar within a year, “Case of acute depression” says SP Cachar

This is the second case of suicide at the campus of the prestigious National Institute of Technology Silchar. In a devastating turn of events, the National Institute of Technology Silchar has been rocked by yet another tragic suicide. The victim, a 6th-semester student of the college, succumbed to his inner turmoil and took his own life on the eve of an exam. Kesar Pran Deka of the Mechanical Branch took this disheartening step as he was under immense pressure from his parents to pursue engineering, despite his reservations.

Wrestling with the weight of expectations, he found himself battling depression, ultimately leading to this heartbreaking outcome. As per available information, he was in the guest house along with his parents and this morning, he locked himself inside the restroom. When his parents found the long stay inside the washroom suspicious, they called in for help. After they broke open the bathroom door, they found Deka had hanged himself in an attempt to kill him. He was rushed to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital, where the doctors declared him “brought dead”.

SP Cachar, Numal Mahatta in a press statement said, “At around 12:00 PM upon receipt of an information of suicidal hanging case at NIT, Guest House Room No 04, Police team rushed to the spot and found that one NIT student – Kishor Pran Deka -20 years of Borka PS-Tamulpur, Kamrup (R) committed suicide by hanging inside bathroom. Accordingly, local Executive magistrate was informed. Immediately after inquest the body of the deceased was sent to the SMCH, Silchar for postmortem. During preliminary investigation, it has come to light that the deceased was suffering from acute depression and accordingly him parents were called and the family was staying at the along with the student. During this time he had committed suicidal hanging. Further legal proceedings have been initiated. Situation has been normal and under close watch”.

“One of the reasons behind his mental health issues that we got to know is that he didn’t want to pursue engineering and his parents came to the campus for this reason. Yesterday, the parents met with the departmental head and tried to convince him to complete the course”, further informed the SP in a telephonic conversation with Barak Bulletin. Unfortunately, the parents didn’t understand their son’s side of the story.

Bhaskar Gupta, the Principal cum Chief Superintendent of Silchar Medical College in a press briefing informed, “Around 11 AM the student was brought to our casualty ward where we found him to be brought dead to casualty. The student was brought here by the NIT Silchar authorities, when we found him to be dead, we informed Cachar Police following the due procedure. When the Police and Magistrate reached here, the body was sent to the forensics department where the postmortem was done and the body was handed over to the patient party”.

Internal sources at the college revealed that he committed suicide on the eve of an exam. Kesar Pran Deka, a resident of Changsari near Guwahati had his end-semester exam starting at 4 PM today. NIT Silchar authorities are yet to release an official statement regarding the incident. However, calls for comprehensive reforms in addressing mental health issues within academic institutions are mounting, as the campus mourns the loss of another promising young life.

Suicide is not the solution, help is available. If you have suicidal thoughts please reach out for help or call a sucide helpline hotline. Reach iCALL helpline at 9152987821, available Mon—Sat, 10 AM—8 PM. AASRA helpline is available 24×7 at 9820466726. The Samaritans Mumbai helpline numbers: +91 84229 84528 / +91 84229 84529 / +91 84229 84530.