VASCO
A 26-year-old PhD scholar from the BITS Pilani Goa campus was found dead after allegedly ending his life at a rented flat behind the institute premises at Sancoale.
This is the seventh suicide linked to the prestigious institute in the last 17 months.
The deceased has been identified as Arjun Sabu, a native of Kerala and a second-year PhD student in Tribal Studies at the BITS Pilani Goa campus.
Sources informed that Sabu was found dead inside his room at the rented accommodation on Wednesday morning. A suicide note was reportedly recovered from the site, though police have not officially disclosed its contents.
Verna police rushed to the spot after being alerted and launched an investigation into the incident. The body was later shifted for postmortem examination while police continue to verify the circumstances that may have led to the extreme step.
Sources stated that the deceased was staying in a three-bedroom flat located behind the BITS Pilani campus at Sancoale along with two other occupants who were employed in different sectors.
“It was a three-bedroom flat occupied by three persons staying in separate bedrooms. The deceased was staying in one room while another staff member of the BITS Pilani campus was staying in the second room and the third room was occupied by a person working in the Verna Industrial Estate. The deceased was seen by the others and was active till around 10.30 pm on Tuesday night,” said a source familiar with the matter.
The source further informed that one of the flat occupants working in the Verna Industrial Estate had reportedly gone out of Goa for the last few days, while the BITS staff member left for work as usual on Wednesday morning.
“The flat also had a maid who used to clean the rooms and had a spare key of the bedrooms. The lady arrived in the morning and cleaned the hall and the other two rooms. When she entered the deceased’s room, she found him dead inside the room. She immediately raised an alarm and informed the police,” the source added.
Police are also probing other possible angles linked to the incident.
“Police have reportedly recovered a suicide note from the room stating that no one is responsible for his death,” the source said.
This is the seventh reported suicide involving a student associated with BITS Pilani Goa oin the last 17 months.
While the latest incident occurred at a rented flat outside the campus, the previous six cases had all been reported from within the institute premises, causing growing concern among students, parents and faculty members.
The series of tragedies began in December 2024 when Om Priyan Singh, a second-year BE Computer Science and MSc Chemistry student, allegedly died by suicide. Just three months later, in March 2025, Atharv Desai, a third-year dual-degree student, also ended his life inside the campus.
The pattern continued in May 2025 when Krishna Kasera, a second-year dual-degree student pursuing MSc Chemistry and BE Electrical and Instrumentation, was found dead in his hostel room.
In August 2025, Kushagra Jain, a third-year Economics and Computer Science student, was discovered dead inside his hostel room.
Another case was reported in September 2025 when Rishi Nair, a 20-year-old second-year MSc Physics student, allegedly died by suicide, further intensifying concerns within the student community.
A recent suicide case was again reported in February 2026 when 20-year-old Vaishnavi Jitesh, a third-year Electronics and Communication Engineering student residing on the campus, was found dead in another suspected suicide case.
The repeated incidents have raised serious concerns over student mental health, academic pressure and the effectiveness of counselling and support systems available on the campus. Investigation into the latest case involving Arjun Sabu is presently underway by Verna police. PSI Prisely Carvalho under the supervision of PI Anand Shirodkar.
