Durgapur, Aug. 26: The body of a second-year computer science student of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Durgapur, was found with the throat slit and the veins in the left wrist cut in front of a hostel on the campus this morning.

Police said the body of Amit Kumar, 19, who hailed from Agra, was found lying on its back by a security guard. The body was found in front of hostel No. 2, where international students stay. Amit used to stay in a hostel on the other side of a field that separates the two facilities.

"The throat was slit and the veins in his left wrist were cut. We have found a small knife in his trousers pocket," an investigating officer said.

A diary in which Amit had jotted down some personal details was found in his hostel room. The police said that in one of the pages, Amit had mentioned no one was responsible for his death.

"Some of the diary entries suggest he was depressed. However, we have to verify the handwriting," the officer said.

A section of police officers said committing suicide by cutting veins was common but it was difficult for a person to slit his own throat.

"If the boy had first cut the veins in his wrist, it would have been almost impossible for him to slit his throat. If the boy first slit his throat, it would be equally difficult to cut the veins in his wrist. As of now, we have registered a case of unnatural death, but we are looking at all possible angles," the officer said.

L.N. Meena, the commissioner of Asansol-Durgapur police, said the body had been sent for a post-mortem. "A handwritten suicide note (in the diary) was found in the boy's room.... No one has lodged a complaint of foul play," he said.

The dean of students at the NIT, Anup Bhattacharya, said students had told him that Amit was in his room till 2.30am.

"Amit's hostel mates told me that they had seen him in his room till 2.30am and the light was on. The police have told us a small knife was found in his pocket," Bhattacharya said, adding that Amit had filled up five pages of the diary.

The NIT registrar, Brigadier Nizzar, said he could not restrict the free movement of students inside or outside the campus but would tell them to stay out of harm's way.

"The loss of life is very unfortunate. Amit's parents have been informed and they are expected here by tomorrow," he said.

This is the second incident of "unnatural death" at the NIT in the past three years, triggering questions on safety and security at the Centre-run institute where students from across India as well as Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and several African nations come to study.

In September 2013, a second-year biotechnology student of the NIT, Vijay Kumar Rai, 19, had been found dead in front of his hostel building allegedly after being ragged by some seniors.