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A PhD student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur was found dead in his room on Tuesday, 6 September at around 8.30 pm, said the institute. The police suspect that the student, Prashant Singh, had died by suicide.
DCP Kanpur Vijay Dhull said, "The body has been sent for a post-mortem and we will ascertain the cause of death once the post-mortem report is out." He said that the police is in touch with Singh's family.
In a statement, IIT said, "A resident of hall 7 called the institute's security section to report that Singh's room was locked from the inside and that he was unresponsive to knocks." The door was forcibly opened and Singh's body was found.
Singh was a student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT, where he was enrolled in a Master's programme in 2019. He was later enrolled in the PhD programme in 2021. The institute said, "With his passing, the Institute lost a talented student and an aspiring scientist."
The institute stated that it is awaiting the findings from the police investigation to determine the likely reason behind his suicide.
The institute added, "The police forensic team came that same evening and began their investigations. Singh's body was taken to the Mortuary of Hallet Hospital."
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