Ranchi, 11 October

A first-year student of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) here was found hanging from the ceiling in his hostel room, police said on Sunday.

The incident came to light on Saturday night when hostel inmates alerted the institute administration after finding the room locked from the inside. The deceased has been identified as Aditya, a resident of Bihar's Purnia district, they said.

"The deceased was a first-year student from Bihar. He was aged between 19 and 20 years. Preliminary investigation suggests the victim committed suicide under examination pressure, with exams having started on October 8. His body was sent for post-mortem examination at RIMS," Khelgaon Police Station in-charge Nirbhay Kumar said.

Meanwhile, several students protested on the campus following the incident. They alleged that college authorities were at fault because the victim was not taken to the hospital on time.

"It is a murder case rather than suicide because the victim was alive. The college authorities took no accountability; their ambulance had no driver. No one was ready to pick him up and take him to the hospital. The warden stopped us from giving him CPR to save his life," Vaibhav, a first-year student, told media persons.

Hundreds of students raised slogans against the college administration and demanded justice for the victim.