Heartbreak at IIT Kanpur: Promising Postdoctoral Researcher’s Apparent Suicide
Kanpur: In a devastating incident that has cast a pall over the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, a 34-year-old research staff member was discovered hanging from the ceiling fan in her second-floor hostel room, marking a somber day for the esteemed institution.
The deceased, identified as Pallavi Chilka from Cuttack, Odisha, had recently joined IIT Kanpur to embark on her postdoctoral research journey at the Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering. Merely three days after moving into the hostel from a private rented accommodation, Pallavi’s untimely demise has left the campus community grappling with shock and sorrow.
The grim discovery unfolded on Tuesday afternoon when a cleaning staff member stumbled upon Chilka hanging from the ceiling. The subsequent police intervention involved breaking open the door and retrieving the body, as confirmed by Kalyanpur Station House Officer (SHO) Dhananjay Pandey.
Preliminary investigations are pointing towards depression as the potential cause behind Pallavi Chilka’s tragic suicide, according to SHO Pandey. As the institute mourns the loss of a promising researcher, questions regarding mental health within academia come to the forefront, prompting a broader reflection on the well-being of those within the academic community.
