ICT Mumbai student found dead in hostel; police investigate suspected suicide

• A 19-year-old second-year chemical engineering student was found dead in his hostel room at Mumbai’s Institute of Chemical Technology

• Matunga Police have registered an accidental death report and are investigating the circumstances

• The student reportedly contacted his doctor expressing distress before his family asked hostel friends to check on him

A 19-year-old student at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai was found dead in his hostel room in Matunga on Tuesday night, in a suspected case of suicide.

The student, identified as Siddhesh Patil from Nashik, was in the second year of his chemical engineering programme and lived in the institute’s hostel.

Police said the incident was reported at around 10.30 pm. Matunga Police have registered an accidental death report and begun investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.

According to preliminary information, Patil had been receiving treatment for mental health difficulties. On Tuesday, he reportedly sent his doctor a message expressing emotional distress.

The doctor alerted his family, who contacted Patil’s friends at the hostel and asked them to check on him immediately. His friends subsequently reached his room and found him dead, according to the initial account.

Investigators are gathering information to establish the sequence of events. The circumstances leading to his death have yet to be determined.

The death follows a recent incident at IIT Bombay in September, when second-year Energy Science and Engineering student Sahil Wakode died by suicide. His death prompted protests on the Powai campus.

With IANS inputs