Vasco da Gama: In another tragic incident, a 20-year-old woman student was found dead in her hostel room at the BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus on Sunday evening, marking the sixth suicide reported on the campus since December 2024.
The student, identified as Vaishnavi, was a native of Bengaluru and was pursuing a degree in electronics and communication engineering.
According to police, the incident is believed to have occurred on Sunday afternoon, but it came to light later in the evening when she failed to respond to calls from her classmates. The matter was reported to the police around 10 pm by the campus public relations officer.
Superintendent of Police Gurudas Kadam of Vasco da Gama sub-division said the student was staying in a third-floor hostel room. As the door was latched from inside and there was no response, police personnel were forced to break it open.
“This is the first recorded case involving a woman student at the campus,” Kadam said.
Police conducted a panchnama and inquest at the scene before sending the body to the South Goa district hospital in Margao for medico-legal procedures. A case of unnatural death has been registered under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Preliminary post-mortem findings indicated that the cause of death was constriction of the neck by ligature material. Further investigation is being carried out by Police Inspector Anand Shirodkar.
Authorities have said that inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. The series of suicides on campus has raised serious concerns about student well-being and mental health support systems.
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