A third-year PhD scholar at IISER Kolkata has died, in what appears by suicide, after accusing another scholar of bullying him for his autism and alleging his supervisor not just remained silent but indulged his tormentor.
Anamitra Roy, a biological sciences scholar, is believed to have taken an overdose of his own neurological medicines at the Kalyani institute’s biology lab on Thursday night. Friends who found the 25-year-old unconscious took him to AIIMS Kalyani where he died on Friday morning.
In a Facebook message posted sometime on Thursday, the young man from Shyamnagar, North 24-Parganas, did not just name his alleged persecutor Sourabh Biswas and supervisor Anindita Bhadra, but also alleged “recurrent physical, mental abuse” by his parents since childhood.
He outlined his lifelong problems with, and persecution for, his condition and said he “first considered suicide in class 6 due to bullying”. His post suggested that the IISER Kolkata’s anti-ragging cell had failed him.
“It all started from early childhood. Recurrent physical, mental abuse from parents who were always too angry and always too immature. On top of top, having autism (Asperger’s), as I recently found out, complicated things further,” Anamitra wrote.
“I first considered suicide in class 6 due to bullying. Had first major depression when I was 14, in class 10. Somehow I got to college amidst continued abuse at home.”
He went on: “Second year in college, I was 18, and fell into major depression again. It has not left me since. Why now? I, alongside many of my colleagues, have been repeatedly abused by Sourabh Biswas, a PhD student in our lab. Repeated complain(t)s to our supervisor, Anindita Bhadra, fell (on) deaf ears.”
Anamitra’s father Tapas Kumar Roy is a retired postmaster, and his mother Anjana is a homemaker. They have not lodged any police complaint so far in the light of their son’s Facebook post and purported suicide.
“On 12th April, 2025, in lab, Sourabh shouted at me for an extended period of time. I registered complaints with IISER Kolkata anti-ragging cell both via email and via official portal. They never reached back to me,” Anamitra wrote.
Anamitra wrote: “One member of students’ affairs council was supportive to me, while another told me that I should have thought about lab’s reputation before complaining.
“My supervisor was of a similar opinion as well and only found fault in my behaviour. I considered suicide a few days later but didn’t follow through due to coincidental circumstances. I sought therapy (my seventh or eighth therapist) and medicines and somehow kept myself alive till today.
“Seeing everyone still keeping normal relationship with my abuser was not easy and caused me multiple breakdowns only one of which was public. I only demanded an apology from Sourabh Biswas but I was denied.”
The post indicated that Anamitra had decided to end his life and pointed to the possible trigger.
“Then today morning started with my supervisor openly praising and celebrating my abuser and his work even though much of his thesis has huge scientific misconduct that my supervisor has ignored at best and lied about at worst,” Anamitra wrote.
“I spoke out and she again chided me for that,” he added, appealing to the readers of his post to bring those who wronged him to justice.
“I was never made for this world, it seems. Yes, I did find some good people, some friends, some bits of love here and there. But I can’t do this anymore. I give up. May I find the peace in death that I never found in life,” he wrote.
“For what it is worth, I am deeply sorry for all the pain and suffering that I have caused throughout my life, and will now cause through my death. If I am to be remembered, I hope I’ll be remembered for the kindness I showed to many who needed it.”
He ended the post with: “That’s all. Curtains.”
Alarmed by the post, Anamitra’s friends first rushed to his rented accommodation in Kalyani. Failing to find him there, they went to the laboratory.
They saw Anamitra lying unconscious. Around 10pm, the friends and institute officials took him to AIIMS Kalyani, where he died around 10am on Friday.
Doctors at the hospital said Anamitra’s death appeared to have been caused by the large quantity of neurological medicines he had taken. Anamitra used to take prescribed doses of these medicines for relief from stress.
Anamitra’s sister, Poushali Roy, blamed the IISER Kolkata administration, the scholar who allegedly bullied her brother, and the supervisor.
“We contacted the family based on the social media post. We informed them of the contents and asked if they wished to register a complaint,” Aashish Maurya, superintendent of police, Ranaghat police district, told this newspaper.
“So far, we have received none, although a woman claiming to be his sister later contacted us for information regarding lodging a complaint.”
The police have initiated a suo motu case of unnatural death and sent the body for an autopsy.
Told that Anamitra had pointed fingers at her in his post, Bhadra told The Telegraph: “I cannot speak in detail since the matter is under investigation. He was someone I have known since his first year of BSMS (the integrated bachelor’s and master’s course). I was fond of him and cannot believe this still.”
Questions have been raised about the IISER authorities’ handling of the matter.
In an unsigned public communication, the institute said: “We resolved to examine and improve our systems of checks and balances to ensure that we can identify and stop such incidents in the future. In the meantime, we request all to give us the space to grieve and heal, and to stand strong with his family. Anamitra was a dynamic student. His loss is invaluable to the entire scientific community.”
An institute official said that both internal and external inquiries would be conducted, and that a probe committee was being constituted.
IISER Kolkata has witnessed tragedy in the past, too.
On April 4, 2022, Subhadip Roy, a final-year scholar from the integrated PhD programme, was found dead inside the physics laboratory. His family alleged ragging.
Several senior professors at the time flagged systemic failures in addressing personal trauma among students, but no substantial institutional reforms followed.
On May 2, 2017, Sagar Mondal, 19, a second-year undergraduate student of the institute, was found hanging inside a hostel toilet. Sagar, son of a poor farmer from Haringhata, had allegedly been left traumatised by the ragging he faced from some senior students.