Two suicides in a single day shock IIT Madras Campus and also the entire nation. Two women, reportedly a professor’s wife and a post-doctoral fellow committed suicide in two different incidents in the IIT, Madras campus on Wednesday.
The victims were later identified as G Vijayalakshmi, 47 (the professor’s wife) and P Maheshwari, 34. Police informed that before the staff and the students could understand what exactly had happened with Vijayalakshmi, when they found her hanging, the news of the second suicide of P Maheshwari broke out. G Vijayalakshmi was the wife of Ganeshan, a Physics professor and they lived together with the family at Warden Quarters inside the campus.
P Maheshwari was found hanging in her room no 814 of Sabarmati Hostel around 5 in the evening by her room mates. She was pursuing a post doctoral fellowship course in Chemistry. She was too married and was a mother to a 6 year old boy. She was a native of Puducherry. Police has so far cited ‘family issues’ as the major reason behind the suspicious suicides of the two women and is now further investigating both the cases to reach the conclusion and solve the mystery. The families of the two have been informed and the dead bodies have been sent to the Government Royapettah Hospital for autopsy.
Meanwhile, IIT Madras has issued a statement expressing condolence. The statement read, “The scholar’s family has been informed. The Institute is taking necessary action and is extending full cooperation to the civil authorities. The Institute extends its deep felt condolences to the family and the near and dear ones of the scholar for the unfortunate, untimely and devastating loss.”
