VASCO
Tragedy struck the BITS Pilani Goa campus once again after a 20-year-old third-year student of Economics and Computer Science from Lucknow was found dead in his hostel room on Saturday morning.
This is the fourth death involving a student at the BITS Pilani Goa campus in about eight months.
According to sources, the student, identified as Kushagra Jain, had recently returned to the campus on August 11, marking the start of his new academic year.
His father, who was attempting to reach him over phone, grew concerned after repeated calls went unanswered. Worried, he contacted one of Jain’s friends on campus, who then informed the hostel warden about the matter.
“The warden immediately opened the hostel room, only to find the student lying unresponsive. The Verna police were then alerted about the incident, and further investigation is presently underway,” a source revealed.
Verna police confirmed that the case has been registered as an unnatural death, with the body sent for post-mortem to establish the exact cause of death.
The demise of the student has left students and staff in shock, struggling to process the sudden loss.
Kushagra Jain’s death adds to a growing list of tragedies that have rocked the BITS Pilani Goa campus over the past eight months.
In December 2024, Om Priyan Singh, a second-year dual degree student from Uttar Pradesh, died by suicide. Just a few months later, a third-year student Atharv Desai ended his life in March 2025.
Then in May, 20-year-old Krishna Kasera, a second-year MSc Chemistry and BE Electrical and Instrumentation student, was found dead in his hostel room, with his family alleging foul play.
Unlike the three earlier cases which were registered as suicides, police are awaiting the autopsy report to determine the cause of Jain’s death.
After three suspected suicide cases, then Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai had expressed “shock and anguish” over the deaths and had directed the institute to submit a detailed report on the causes and corrective measures.
In mid-May, the BITS Pilani, Goa campus had submitted a detailed report to the Governor on the three suspected student suicide cases reported over the past five months.
While details of the report have not been made public, BITS Pilani Goa campus had announced that it is working on revamping the curriculum and will offer students the option to take exams later if they are under stress. A special committee was also set up to carry out the changes.
The institute had also stated that it would add new courses on mental and physical wellness and stress management to the revised curriculum. An internal review of the support systems available to students had also begun.
