3 min readPanajiUpdated: May 14, 2026 05:29 AM IST
A 26-year-old student pursuing PhD at BITS Pilani’s Goa campus allegedly died by suicide at his rented accommodation here outside the college campus on Wednesday.
According to the police, the incident took place on Wednesday morning. A purported suicide note recovered from the spot stated that no one was responsible for his death, said police, adding that they have initiated inquest proceedings.
Six student deaths have been reported at the BITS Goa campus since December 2024. In the aftermath of the suicide cases at the institute in September last year, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had announced an inquiry by a district-level monitoring committee. The committee conducted an assessment of the institutional ecosystem, student support mechanisms and mental-health response framework at the campus, and submitted its report to the government on February 2.
In a statement to the press on Wednesday, the district administration said the committee observed that “suicide is a complex and multi-dimensional issue” and “cannot be attributed to any single reason or isolated circumstance”.
In its report, the committee flagged “the possibility of a ‘suicide contagion’ or ‘cluster effect’, a phenomenon recognised in psychological and public-health literature wherein repeated exposure to suicide-related incidents may increase vulnerability among at-risk individuals, particularly young persons”.
“Studies indicate that repetitive sensational or emotionally amplified reporting and circulation of such incidents can unintentionally contribute to emotional distress, identification with the deceased, and imitative behaviour among vulnerable individuals,” the committee said.
The committee noted that students in highly competitive academic environments may experience significant stress arising from academic workload, performance expectations, social isolation, emotional vulnerability, sleep disturbances, personal issues, and difficulties in seeking timely mental-health support. “It was further observed that while counselling and peer-support mechanisms presently exist within the institute, there is a need for substantial expansion in counselling capacity, preventive wellness initiatives, faculty sensitisation, student engagement systems, and awareness regarding available mental-health resources,” it further added.
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The Indian Express reported in March that the police investigation into the death of at least five students at the institute’s Goa campus since December 2024 indicated that academic stress was a probable trigger in at least three cases. The probe said that one suicide was related to a “personal issue”, while another death remains under investigation.
A spokesperson for the institute did not respond to requests for a comment.
