Marimes ARUN KUMAR, 23 years, last year of metallurgical and material engineering, died in IIT Ropar 22 March | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
About 200 km from Hyderabad, a family in Nandyal District, Andhra Pradesh, lost his only son, just three months before he was set up for the title B. Tech of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar in Pandjab.
Marimes Arun Kumar, 23 years, the last year of a metallurgical and material engineering student, died in a hospital (PGIMER Postgraduate Institute for Medical Education and Research (PGimer) in Chandigarh on March 22, a week after consuming poison in his hostel room.
On March 25, the body was departed from Chandigarh to Hyderabad in a freight flight. From there, his family took a taxi to their house in the village of Ramapuram.
The day after his last ceremonies, Arno’s father Marimessi Sudhakar collapsed during a telephone conversation with Hindu. His cousin, Shiva, a grim tone, said, “We don’t want it to happen to a child … The government should deal with it.
Shiva said that the family learned about the incident on March 16 through Arun’s friend and immediately flew to Chandigarh.
The grades remained invisible
“We don’t know what he had gone through, but he was at best when he was with us,” Prasanth, a closest friend and classmate, recalled. “Just two days earlier, Arnu played cricket as if nothing had happened.”
On the stick, while most of his friends left for weekend trips, he stayed back in the hostel. “I was in Delhi when I got a call. He asked me where I was. It seemed like an informal conversation. I had no idea he had already ate poison,” he said.
Since his best friend was not there, he turned to the others and admitted that he had consumed poison. They rushed to the medical center inside the Institute, where he was moved to Pgimer. Until then, regret has emerged. In the hospital, Arun realized what he did. During his weekly treatment, his father, cousin, and later his sister-when his condition deteriorated-after his side.
“He was my close friend in the classroom. We shared a strong bond, but never talked about his fighting. He looked quite normal,” Prasanth said.
Worrying questions
ARUN bought a pesticide paraquat dichloride from the popular electronic trading platform just before the incident and raised concerns about the easy availability of toxic substances online. It wasn’t his first attempt either. The students shared it about six months ago, trying to hurt, but was saved in the nickname of time.
Days after the incident, social media, especially Reddit, were flooded with students who delayed the delay in communication. “We found out on Monday, when he was sent about a condolence meeting. Why was he held under the wrap so long?” The student asked. Many members of the faculty did not know anyway.
Meanwhile, a member of the faculty, speaking under anonymity, pointed out a larger suicide formula among students from disadvantaged communities in IIT.
“Many students from the disadvantaged environment are entering IIT with large ambitions, but trying to cope with the system. The knee, accumulates pending items and often feels isolated. The pressure builds only-pay courses means loss of capacity to place the campus.
While there are SC/ST support cells, their effectiveness remains doubtful. “The system lacks intervention focused on empathy,” he added.
(Roshni suicide Hellines: 8142020033 /8142020044).
Published – 27 March 2025 20:54 is
