20-year-old Biotech student found hanging in SRM ladies hostel

The deceased, Ayushi Rana (20), was a second-year BTech Biotechnology student of SRM Institute of Science and Technology. While she returned to her room on the eighth floor of the hostel building on Saturday afternoon, she did not leave her thumb imprint for the biometric attendance at 9 pm as per the hostel rules.

Since the calls made to her phone went unanswered and her room was locked from inside, the college staff alerted Maraimalai Nagar police. The room was broken open in the presence of police personnel and Ayushi was found hanging from the window.

Her body was sent to Chengalpattu government hospital for post-mortem and her father Anil Kumar was informed of his daughter’s death over phone. Preliminary inquiries revealed that Ayushi stayed outside for a day without informing the hostel staff. Police said she was scolded by her parents and police suspect that unable to overcome the humiliation, she might have resorted to the extreme step. A case has been registered and further investigation is on.

Five students committed suicide (three of them jumped from the high-rise buildings) on the same university campus last year after which CB-CID inquiry was ordered. While the status of the investigation is not known, the institution made headlines earlier this month again for students clashing in groups with deadly weapons, including a pistol. Ayushi’s suicide occurred in the building in which M Anupriya, a biomedical engineering student, also jumped to death inMay last year.