The father of the deceased student from IIT Kharagpur said on Sunday that the institute should adopt effective strategies to stop student deaths on the campus, where five students have died in the last nine months.

“How can so many students die? What is the IIT Kharagpur administration doing about it? They must take effective steps to prevent the recurrence of deaths on the campus,” said Manoj Kumar Pandey, father of Harsh Kumar Pandey, the first-year PhD scholar found hanging in his room at BR Ambedkar Hall of Residence on Saturday.

Harsh was pursuing a PhD in fluid dynamics under the mechanical engineering department.

Manoj, who is a radio physicist by profession, said he used to speak to his son every night and did not suspect anything unusual.

“My son did not take my calls on Friday night. I thought he would call back on Saturday morning. When he did not call back in the morning, I tried calling him on WhatsApp. This did not yield any response. Then, in the afternoon, around 2pm, I was told by the IIT Kharagpur authorities that Harsh was found hanging. He took admission in January. I would want the IIT administration to take steps so that further loss of lives could be prevented,” said the father.

IIT Kharagpur director Suman Chakraborty said they have already initiated a slew of steps to prevent death on the campus.

“A fact-finding committee has been constituted to probe the death. We are awaiting its report,” said Chakraborty.

The recurrence of deaths has left many on the campus concerned.

This has also revealed that IIT Kharagpur still has significant progress to make in establishing an effective system.

“My son aspired to become a teacher. Consequently, he enrolled in the PhD program at IIT Kharagpur after completing his BTech and MTech in mechanical engineering. Currently, the administration at IIT Kharagpur is unable to inform me about the cause or the individuals responsible for his death. The occurrence of multiple fatalities on campus is indeed alarming,” said Manoj, a radio physicist at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi.

IIT director Chakraborty, a professor of the mechanical engineering department, said they are waiting for the fact-finding team’s report.

“I have come to know that Harsh failed in one of the subjects in a test called ‘comprehension’, which a PhD student is required to undertake. But failing in a subject is common. Students are allowed to write a second comprehension that they can easily qualify. There is no record of the student having visited our counselling facility. However, it must be noted that if a student does not visit our counselling facility, that does not mean that the student is not encountering any mental health issue,” Chakraborty told Metro.

“The fact-finding committee is expected to throw some light on what had happened,” Manoj Pandey said.

Clearing the test is mandatory for students to get their PhD registration.

“The reason behind the death of a BTech student varies from that of a PhD student. We have already taken steps such as appointing a Dean for student well-being, hiring a psychiatrist, and organising induction programs for parents, in addition to conducting induction programs for students, to help prevent fatalities. We will continue to revise and enhance our programs on a campus that accommodates 16,000 students,” said director Chakraborty.