Lucknow, Nov. 17: Madhuri Sale would have graduated as an IIT engineer by early next year. This evening she was dead.

The final-year civil engineering student of IIT Kanpur was found hanging in her hostel room in a suspected suicide, the eighth the premier tech school has seen in the past six years.

Just two days back, the 22-year-old from Andhra Pradesh had celebrated her birthday with friends.

“It is an extremely unfortunate incident. We had no clue about her mental state,” institute registrar Sanjeev Kashalkar said from Kanpur.

Officials said Madhuri’s friends became suspicious when they knocked on her door around 5 this evening to find out why she had skipped breakfast and lunch. When they didn’t get any response, they informed the authorities who called police. An hour later, institute officials and the police forced open the door to find her hanging from a ceiling fan.

IIT authorities have informed her parents, who may reach Kanpur late tonight.

Madhuri’s suicide was the eighth by a student at the institute in the past six years since a second-year mechanical engineering student from Karnataka ended his life in November 2004.

Sources in the IIT said Madhuri had slipped up a bit after “excellent” results till the fourth semester, but that couldn’t be the reason for ending her life. “We had no idea she was in a state of depression because she celebrated her birthday with friends just two days ago,” a professor said.

Professor A.K. Ghose, head of the IIT counselling centre, said Madhuri would have become a graduate engineer this year. “Her colleagues said she had worked till late in the night on a project. When she didn’t come for breakfast in the morning, her friends assumed she was sleeping.”

A batch mate told the IIT administration she had spoken to her mother last night.

One student said Madhuri might have suffered some deep emotional jolt in the night. “We suspect the shock unsettled her….”

The police have taken possession of her belongings.

The body has been sent for an autopsy.