The police investigation into the death of at least five students at BITS Pilani’s Goa campus over the past 15 months indicates that academic stress was a probable trigger in at least three cases, The Indian Express has learnt. While the investigators suspect that one suicide was related to a “personal issue”, another death remains under investigation.
Six students are reported to have died on the campus since December 2024. The police probe has found that four of these cases were suicides, one was a natural death, and in one case, the cause of death remains under inquiry.
According to information shared in the Assembly Session in January by Goa’s Home Department, five cases of unnatural death were reported in 2024 and 2025. In response to a question on the number of suicides and whether the cases are linked to academic pressures, the Home Department said that all five unnatural death cases till then had “occurred during the exam period”. It recorded that in four of those cases, the reason for suicide was “stress over exams”, while the fifth case of suicide occurred due to a personal issue, wherein “the deceased was in depression” after his partner died by suicide.
The first of these deaths was reported on December 10, 2024, at 5.51 pm, when a 20-year-old student from Uttar Pradesh, pursuing a dual degree (MSc Physics and BE Computer Science), died by suicide in his hostel room. The police probe states that after extensive inquiry, examination of witnesses, forensic reports, medical opinion, academic evaluation, electronic evidence and circumstances, “no evidence of homicidal death or foul play was found”. It says the death is concluded to be a case of suicide, attributable to “academic stress, emotional distress, relationship issues and parental pressure”.
The second case was reported on March 5, 2025, when a 20-year-old student, a resident of Goa, was found dead in his hostel room. The police investigation has found that “academic concerns and anxiety” were the probable reasons for the suicide. Evidence indicates that the deceased was under “considerable stress due to his academic performance”, investigators say.
“The deceased repeatedly expressed that despite his continuous efforts, he was not achieving the expected results. This led to feelings of disappointment and anxiety,” the police file states. It adds that the student also “expressed regret regarding the choice of pursuing studies in Science and Engineering, which further contributed to his sense of dissatisfaction and stress”.
Over two months later, a 20-year-old student from Uttar Pradesh, pursuing Economics and Computer Science, was reported to have died by suicide in his hostel room on May 1, 2025. A letter written by the student’s parent the following day, which is part of the police file, records that the student’s academic performance was deteriorating since the first semester. The police probe states that while no foul play has been detected in the case, the inquiry is still ongoing.
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On August 16, 2025, at 1.27 pm, a 20-year-old student from Uttar Pradesh was found lying unconscious in his hostel room. The college authorities at the time said that the student “passed away in his sleep”. The autopsy report findings say it is suggestive of “haemmorrhagic pancreatitis with severe gastritis and severe pulmonary and cerebral edema.” The police inquiry in the case has found that the probable cause of death “appears to be natural”.
A fifth incident was reported on September 4, 2025, when a 19-year-old student from Karnataka died by suicide in his hostel room. According to the police probe, the student had been undergoing treatment for a “personal health challenge” from a relationship-related issue. The autopsy report mentions that “signs of aspiration pneumonitis and severe gastritis were noted”, and the police probe into the death is underway.
In the aftermath of the suicide cases in the institute in September last year, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had announced that a district-level monitoring committee would conduct an inquiry. According to sources, the committee has held three meetings to ascertain the reasons for the deaths. In its report, the committee is learnt to have observed that “suicide contagion” — a phenomenon where exposure to a suicide or suicidal behaviour of one or more persons influences others to do the same — could be the reason behind the spurt in such cases on the campus.
Another 20-year-old student died by suicide on February 1 this year, which remains under investigation. College authorities had issued a statement the next day saying the student had been managing a personal health challenge and undergoing treatment.
Management responds
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In a statement, BITS Goa management said, “Between December 2024 and February 2026, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa campus painfully witnessed the tragic demise of six of its young and bright students. As per the incident reports, and our own understanding of the circumstances, combined with police investigation, it appears that four of these deaths were by suicide, while one death appears to be natural and the other is associated with drug overdose.”
“Suicide is a very complex phenomenon associated with multiple factors, and it is extremely challenging to identify a specific reason that led to the suicides, with a distinct possibility of the incidents being part of a suicide contagion. The first three suicides occurred during exams, while the fourth suicide, and the other two deaths, did not. Internal investigations and circumstantial evidence indicate factors like academic and personal self-expectations and aspirations, emotional distress, parental expectations, relationship issues, feeling of exclusion and clinical depression,” the statement said.
Last year, college authorities implemented certain measures, including streamlining academic content, expanding counselling services with professional psychologists, setting up a 24×7 helpline, scheduling sessions with the faculty to address students’ concerns, and providing weekly consultations with psychiatrists.
