IIT-Bombay student dies by suicide: ‘Masti, engineering & fun’ was his last Instagram caption

MUMBAI: An IIT Bombay civil engineering student, Naman Agarwal (21), died by suicide on Wednesday in Powai, Mumbai. Police said the student was under treatment for depression. Faculty members ruled out academic stress as a reason for his death. "His academic records reflect that he was a very bright student," said a faculty member.

Hailing from Rajasthan's Pilani, the second-year student lived on the ground floor of hostel 3. Sources on campus said his father was hospitalised for a heart ailment in his hometown.


Convenor of a campus club for fashion named Style Up, Naman, said hostel mates, was "always smiling." His last post on social media was on Oct 25. It had a video of him with friends wearing Halloween costumes which was posted with hashtags, "enjoying", "masti", "engineering" and "fun".

The Powai police raised concern over the IIT-Bombay management's security at the hostels, saying this was the second incident of a student jumping to death from a hostel terrace in a year.

Police pointed to the absence of a guard to regulate entry to the terrace, which they said was left open. "We questioned the IIT management why the terrace was not locked. They replied that they kept the door open to tackle fire hazards. We have initiated an inquiry into it to check if there is any security lapse," said an officer.

"Students rushed out on hearing a loud thud sound and found Agarwal lying in a pool of blood. It was learned that Agarwal was getting medical help for suspected depression. We have informed Agarwal's family," the police officer said. A condolence meeting was held on campus on Wednesday night.

"When such tragedies occur repeatedly across institutions like the IITs, it calls for a careful review of how mental-health support systems are functioning on the ground. The focus should remain on prevention, sustained emotional support, and thoughtful systemic improvements, rather than reactive steps or attributing responsibility to individuals," said Dheeraj Singh, founder, Global IIT Alumni Support Group.

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