2nd-yr IIT-Kgp student dies after fall from 3rd floor
Times of India | 14 August 2026
Kolkata/Kharagpur: A second-year IIT Kharagpur engineering student died after reportedly falling from the third floor of the Nalanda classroom complex. Ankit Sharma (18), who hailed from Rajasthan, was pursuing mechanical engineering. He joined the institution in July 2025 and was a boarder of Gokhale Hall.
According to police, he went to the Nalanda classroom complex to attend classes. A cleaning staff spotted him lying there with severe injuries and bleeding around 3pm. He informed the security. Initially, it is suspected that he had fallen from the corridor of the third floor. The deceased was rushed to B C Roy Hospital, which is around 1.5 km from Nalanda. He was declared dead by doctors upon arrival.
“An incident regarding the unnatural death of a second-year mechanical engineering student has occurred. He fell from the third floor. An investigation is underway to determine what exactly happened,” said Bushara Bano, additional superintendent of police for Kharagpur in West Midnapore.
IIT Kharagpur director Suman Chakraborty said, “We have no clarity on what happened. Presumably he fell down near the classroom complex as per the impression of the security posted there. I am very shocked.”
This is the third student death on the campus this year. On July 29 assistant professor Deepak Reddy Pullaguram was found hanging in his quarters. On April 18, a third-year engineering student Jayveersinh Dodiya died after falling from the eighth floor terrace of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hall of Residence. A fourth-year engineering student Soham Halder was found hanging in his hostel room at Madan Mohan Malviya hall on April 28. In 2025, the institute witnessed seven student deaths, including suicides and accidents.
According to campus sources, Sharma ate and joked around with friends at the mess on Thursday. “There was no stress related to academics. In his first year, he attained a CGPA of 6.8 combining both sems. He was showing improvements in his academics. We are perplexed about how he fell from the third floor of the Nalanda complex,” said a student.
According to sources, Sharma was seen in the corridor with a friend who left after a while. “He might have accidentally slipped and fallen from the corridor. Some also suspected that he may have tried to sit on the railing and lost his balance. Police investigation would find out what really happened,” said a source.
The institute has already informed his parents and is cooperating with the cops in the investigation. “The post-mortem will be conducted at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital after his family arrives,” said a cop.