Assistant registrar at IIT Kanpur commits suicide after toddler tested COVID positive, police suspect depression

Surjeet Kumar Das, an assistant registrar at IIT Kanpur committed suicide at his official residence in Kanpur.

The deceased was reportedly depressed. His family said his younger son, who is just one and a half years old, had tested COVID positive and hence Surjeet's depression had deepened.

Kalyanpur police station's Inspector Veer Singh said, "As per an initial investigation, the deceased Surjeet Kumar Das was in a depressed state and was under the treatment from a doctor based in Delhi."

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Police said Das was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his residence on Tuesday evening. The body has been sent for post-mortem. "The deceased Surjeet was a native of Assam and lived with his wife Bulbul, mother-in-law and two sons. His elder son is eight years old while the younger one is one-and-a-half years old. Kumar was under treatment for depression since 2011," Inspector Veer Singh said.