Guwahati, Nov. 23: D. Srilata was a “fine” student who may have wanted to be among the finest, like all IITians are expected to be.

Whether pressure to scale the academic ladder killed this MTech student was the subject of speculation on the campus of IIT, Guwahati, a day after she was found hanging in her hostel room.

Srilata’s suicide is the first at the region’s largest and best institute for higher education in technology.

The girl from Andhra Pradesh was to have appeared for her viva voce test today, prompting many to blame “examination stress” for her death.

A police officer involved in the investigation said Srilata did not leave a suicide note. Friends found the girl from Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh hanging by a chunni (scarf) fastened to a hook on the ceiling of room number 228 at the Subansiri Girls’ Hostel around 10pm. They had gone looking for her when she did not turn up for dinner or answer her mobile phone.

“Prima facie, it appears that this second-year MTech student of computer science and engineering committed suicide. Since examinations are going on at the IIT and her viva voce was slated for today, it is possible that examination blues forced her to take the extreme step. The girl was of frail health and may have struggled to cope with the stress,” the police officer said.

But the head of Srilata’s department, Prof. G. Sajith, disputed the theory of examination-related stress driving her to suicide. “I cannot see an academic reason for this. She was an average student and not doing so badly,” he said.

Assistant registrar (public relations) Labanu K. Konwar described Srilata as a “fine” student whose abilities were reflected in her Cumulative Performance Index.

The index is a method followed in the IITs to grade students on the basis of their performance in each examination.

The dean of student affairs at the institute, S. Dandapad, declined to speculate about the reason for her suicide. “Let the police investigate,” he said.

The IIT administration informed Srilata’s parents about the incident last night itself. A condolence meeting was held this morning at the academic complex. Director Gautam Barua and registrar Brajendra Nath Raychoudhury were present, too.

Srilata joined IIT, Guwahati, after completing her BTech from Anurag Engineering College in Andhra Pradesh.