Engineering student from Tirupati found dead in hostel room

CHENNAI: A 20-year-old engineering student from Tirupati was found dead in her hostel room at a private college in Enathur in Kancheepuram on Thursday night. The deceased was identified Nikitha, a third year student of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) at Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya. She was staying in the college hostel.

Police said Nikitha had not attended classes for the past two days and had remained inside her hostel room.

On Thursday night, some students complained to the hostel authorities after noticing a foul smell emanating from the room. The hostel warden, along with other staff, opened the room and found Nikitha hanging from the ceiling.

The Ponnerikarai police were immediately informed, and a team of police who visited the spot recovered the body and sent it to Chengalpattu Government Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.

Following the incident, there was tension inside the college premises, and students claimed that the warden and hostel authorities had failed to monitor the student despite her absence from classes and the hostel premises for two days.

Later, more than 50 students gathered outside the college and staged a road protest, raising slogans demanding justice for Nikitha. The police who reached the spot held preliminary discussions with the college management and spoke to the protesting students.

Police had recovered a note indicating that Nikitha had taken the extreme step due to family-related reasons. Following the assurance from the police, the students withdrew their protest and dispersed peacefully.

The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding her death, and the police were also awaiting the postmortem report.