A 20-year-old electronics engineering student at BITS Pilani's Goa campus was found dead in her hostel room on Sunday night in a suspected suicide. This marks the sixth such death on the campus in the past 15 months. A government panel has pointed to 'suicide contagion' as a possible factor, while opposition leaders demand a judicial inquiry.
A 20-year-old student from Karnataka, pursuing Electronics and Communication Engineering at BITS Pilani's Goa campus, was found dead in her hostel room on Sunday night around 10 pm, as reported by college authorities. Police from South Goa arrived at the scene to investigate the suspected suicide. This incident is the sixth death on the campus in the past 15 months.
Following suicides in September 2025, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced a district-level monitoring committee, which held meetings on September 5 and 12, 2025. The committee's report, submitted to senior officials, identified 'suicide contagion'—a phenomenon where exposure to suicide influences others—as a potential reason for the increase. It examined five previous cases and noted 'copy-cat' suicides, with only one parent's report citing academic stress.
However, in last month's Assembly session, the government stated that five students died by suicide in 2024 and 2025, all during exam periods. Four were attributed to exam stress, and the fifth to a personal issue involving depression after a partner's suicide.
In response, campus authorities have implemented measures including streamlining academic content, expanding counseling with professional psychologists, a 24x7 helpline, faculty sessions for student concerns, and weekly psychiatrist consultations. Despite these, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Amit Patkar demanded a judicial inquiry, stating, 'The tragic discovery of yet another student found dead…is a damning indictment of the total collapse of student safety, mental-health governance, and administrative responsibility in the state of Goa.'
A BITS Goa spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
