Sangareddy: A 21-year-old first-year M Tech student hailing from Odisha, Mamitha Nayak, met a tragic end through suicide at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad campus situated in Kandi, Sangareddy district. Mamitha was discovered hanging in her hostel room on Monday evening, a grim discovery made by her concerned friends.
The shocking discovery prompted Mamitha’s friends to immediately alert the hostel authorities, who promptly informed the Sangareddy rural police about the tragic incident. Following this notification, the police swiftly arrived on the scene and conducted a thorough search of Mamitha’s room. Their investigation yielded a heart-wrenching suicide note, believed to be authored by Mamitha herself. In the note, she expressed her inability to cope with the immense mental stress she was facing, attributing her drastic decision solely to her own struggles. She made it clear that no external factors were to blame for her untimely demise.
The news of Mamitha’s unfortunate death cast a pall of sorrow over the entire IIT Hyderabad campus, which has recently been grappling with a series of student suicides linked to the pressure of academics. This tragic incident serves as a stark reminder of the emotional turmoil many students often grapple with, underscoring the urgent need for heightened mental health support within educational institutions.
Merely weeks ago, the campus had mourned the loss of another student. D Karthik, a second-year B Tech Mechanical Engineering student, was discovered deceased on a beach in Visakhapatnam. His passing, like Mamitha’s, was attributed to the overwhelming weight of academic challenges, raising concerns about the mental well-being of students and the pressures they face.
The somber event has prompted calls for enhanced mental health services and support systems for students across academic institutions, emphasizing the crucial need to address the burgeoning issue of academic stress and its impact on young minds. As the IIT Hyderabad community mourns the loss of Mamitha Nayak, it underscores the collective responsibility to foster an environment that nurtures both academic growth and emotional well-being.
