Bengaluru College Student Found Dead, Suicide Suspected: Police

A post-graduate student of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru was found dead in his room, the police said, adding that suicide is suspected.

"Sandeep Kumar committed suicide in his room by hanging. He was under depression that he had symptoms of coronavirus," an investigating police official said.

According to the official, the MTech student from Chhattisgarh had earlier sent text messages about his condition to some of his friends.

The IISc condoled the death of the student and said the mental well-being of its students, faculty and staff was of serious concern and it has provided facilities and wellness resources for those in need.

"We express our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the student, who was pursuing an MTech degree at the Department of Computational and Data Sciences," it said in a statement.

The premier science institute added it has provided facilities and wellness resources which include round-the-clock emergency call service for anyone needing to talk to a mental health professional, online counselling and support and one-on-one counselling with counsellors and psychiatrists on campus besides other resources and links hosted by IISc's Wellness Centre.

Karnataka has so far recorded 2.33 lakh positive cases, including 4,062 deaths, and there were 16 infected people dying of "non-COVID reasons", according to the health department.

(If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.) Helplines: 1) Vandrevala Foundation for Mental Health - 1860-2662-345 / 1800-2333-330 (24 hours) 2) TISS iCall - 022-25521111 (Monday-Saturday: 8 am to 10 pm)