A 20-year-old student of BITS Pilani’s Goa campus was found dead in his hostel room on Saturday. Police said they have initiated inquest proceedings, adding that prima facie, it is suspected to be a case of natural death. The college authorities said the student “passed away in his sleep”. According to the police, the incident was reported around 11:30 am, following which a team from Verna police station rushed to the spot. “The student was found lying on his bed in a sideward sleeping position. The previous night, he played table tennis on the campus and later returned to his room. The room was locked from the inside. When he did not answer the door on Saturday, the hostel authorities were informed. The cause of death will be ascertained after the post-mortem on Sunday,” said a police officer. In a statement, the college authorities said the third-year student was pursuing a dual degree course – BE Computer Science and MSc Economics – and his CGPA grade was close to 9. The statement said the student was found “in an unresponsive state on his bed when his room was opened, and the medical team confirmed that he passed away in his sleep”. “The BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus community is deeply saddened by the loss of one of its students today… The police were informed and they have initiated the required procedures to ascertain the cause of death. We are fully cooperating. The loss of a young life is an irreparable tragedy, and the entire campus community is deeply shocked and grieving. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his friends and all members of our community who are affected by this sudden loss,” the statement said. The campus was in news in May when, after three cases of suicides were reported since December last year, the institute initiated an internal inquiry. The institute had announced several measures to streamline academic content, including a revamp of the existing curriculum, expanded counselling services with professional psychologists, a 24x7 helpline, sessions with faculties to redress students’ concerns and weekly psychiatrist consultations. The authorities had announced that students in distress were given flexibility to take examinations at a later time and new courses on mental and physical wellness and stress management would be included in the revised curriculum.
