Tezpur University student found dead in hostel room, suicide suspected: Assam police

A 20-year-old student of Assam’s Tezpur University was found dead in his hostel room on the university campus on Wednesday afternoon, with police suspecting suicide.

Sonitpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Barun Purkayastha said the Bachelor of Science (BSc) student was found hanging in his hostel room, with the door locked from inside.

“We received the information at around 1:30pm. The body was recovered by our team and it was sent to the Kanaklata Civil Hospital (KCH), where the doctors confirmed the death before the postmortem was conducted,” he said.

Registrar of the university Chandan Goswami told HT that the deceased was a resident of Nagaon district and was pursuing a BSc in the Integrated Chemistry department.

“He was sharing a room with another student who went to class in the morning. When the roommate returned around 1:30pm, he found the room locked from inside and, through the ventilator, saw his fellow student hanging,” Goswami said.

Police officers said a diary was found, but its contents could not be shared as the matter was under investigation.

The SSP said the family members of the deceased were asked to come to Tezpur after the incident and that the body was handed over to them around 7pm on Wednesday.

“We are investigating the matter and the university authorities are cooperating with us,” SSP Purkayastha said, adding that statements of other students and staff familiar with the incident would be recorded as per the law.

Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.

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