Third PES University student dies by suicide, Bengaluru institution says no red flags in mentorship process

According to the police, a UDR (Unnatural Death Report) has been filed in the Parappana Agrahara police station and an investigation is currently underway. Police officers said that he was rushed to St John’s Hospital. But the doctors declared he was brought dead.

What PES University said

The PES University in a press statement said that the institution’s mentorship session, which Rahul had attended, did not show any red flag and the institution will be sharing all the mentorship notes with the investigative authorities.

The PES University said, “Rahul was a 3rd year BTech student with an excellent academic track record. His absence leaves a void within our campus community, as he will be remembered by all. Rahul arrived on the campus premises at 8:00am on May 14th. The circumstances surrounding the tragic event in the morning of May 14th, is being investigated. The parents and authorities are fully abreast of all the developments.”

It further said, “The university is cooperating fully with the investigating authorities by providing all access, information and videos to understand what might have transpired. We have been looking for answers, on what made such an academically strong student to take this undesired extreme step. Authorities are conducting the investigation and it would not be prudent to give rise to any speculated theories surrounding the circumstances that have led Rahul to end his life.”

The university also highlighted, “There is a mentorship system in place wherein every student is assigned a dedicated faculty mentor to provide support to our students. Rahul also participated in these one-on-one mentorship sessions and none of these sessions have thrown any red flags. These observations have been shared with the authorities and they are investigating all possible angles including personal reasons. All the mentorship notes regarding Rahul will be shared with the authorities.”

The PES university also said that the institution has a strong student counselling system, where students having challenges on the personal front can seek help from professional counsellors.

An anonymous social media post

Meanwhile, an anonymous social media post claimed that the student was not allowed to write the exam because he arrived late and the management warned him of backlog. The post read, “The suicide today as been confirmed, it was no accident, the student was a third year student whose exam was at 8 30, he has arrived at 9, and was not allowed to write the end sem exam, and was even told he would get a backlog and wouldnt be able to sit for placements.”

It further read, “This is the 3rd death in a space of just 6 months in the exact same campus caused directly by pes itself.”

It then added that despite the suicide, classes continued. “In fact my previous post was also about a suicide that happened just 4 months earlier and i shared an image of where it happened, and today’s suicide happened at the exact same place Doreswamy (referring to the founder) was a politician and has a great connection to IPS officers thru which he tries to suppress information from getting out of such things, in fact we, as students, only found out now. Pls spread this, pls dont let this die out, this death was directly caused due to pes, and should be held accountable for.”

A police officer speaking to indianexpress.com said, “The cause of suicide is still unknown. So far, we have checked only the CCTV cameras outside the building. We still have to check the footage inside the campus to investigate the claims that he was denied entry to the exam because he arrived late. We are talking to students to understand if the management is going hard on them and if there is any academic pressure. Three suicide cases in a row is a matter of grave concern.”