Kanpur: A 22-year-old student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur was found dead in his hostel room after other students raised concerns about a foul odor, police said on Thursday.
Dheeraj Saini, a final-year B.Tech student in electrical engineering from Haryana, had not been seen outside his Hostel-1 room no. 123. His roommates alerted authorities when a strong smell began emanating from the locked room on Wednesday.
A police team broke open the door and discovered Saini’s body hanging from a ceiling fan with a rope, confirmed Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kalyanpur) Ranjeet Kumar. No suicide note was found.
Saini had recently informed his sister that he planned to visit home in December. The body was sent to the mortuary, and an autopsy was scheduled for Thursday evening to determine the cause of death. Police said that if any complaint is lodged, further investigation will be conducted.
His father, Satish Saini, who runs a sweet shop, expressed his grief, stating, “IIT-K has swallowed my son. I cannot explain how hard I worked to educate him.” He added that Dheeraj had planned to participate in campus placements in March.
According to hostel-mates, Saini was quiet and kept to himself. They had assumed he was away on leave due to ongoing holidays and only became concerned when the foul smell emerged.
