'Suicide Contagion'? Goa Student Suicide Highlights India's Alarming Mental Health Crisis

2026-02-04 11:19:39

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

A senior official said a committee that examined five earlier cases noted growing instances of“copy-cat suicides, where a suicidal act triggers a similar behaviour in others and leads to imitation”

PUBLISHED: Thu 5 Feb 2026, 7:00 AM

By:
Nithin Belle

The suspected suicide by a 20-year-old student at the Goa campus of BITS Pilani a few days ago has brought the focus back on the growing number of such cases across India.

The body of the student, V. Jitesh, was found in her hostel room at the campus in South Goa. According to the police, she was found hanging from a ceiling fan with a bedsheet around her neck on Sunday night. It was reportedly the sixth death on the institute's campus in the past 15 months.

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A police spokesperson told Indian media that the control room got a call about a female student who had hung herself in the room. She was a third-year student in electronics and communications engineering and is originally from Bengaluru.

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“The tragic discovery of yet another student found dead is a damning indictment of the total collapse of student safety, mental-health governance, and administrative responsibility in the state of Goa,” Amit Patkar, the president of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, told reporters, as he sought a judicial inquiry into student deaths on the campus.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant had set up a district-level monitoring committee to inquire into the growing number of student suicides in the state. Initial findings mention 'a suicide contagion' could be behind the growing instances of such cases in campuses.

Copy-cat suicides

A senior official told Indian Express that the committee, which examined five cases, noted growing instances of“copy-cat suicides, where a suicidal act triggers a similar behaviour in others and leads to imitation.” This could be one of the reasons for the growing number of suicides.

The Goa government informed the state assembly recently that five students at the BITS Pilani Goa campus had committed suicide in 2024 and 2025. Academic stress during exams was the prime reason for most of the deaths.

The Goa campus of the institute, in a statement to India Today, said it deeply regretted and mourned“the unfortunate demise of a student, who had been managing a personal health challenge and undergoing treatment."

"We extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, friends, all those who knew and loved her and the entire campus community during this extremely difficult time," the college added, noting it has active student support and counselling mechanisms, as well as trained mental health professionals on campus to support students and staff.

“Students are encouraged to seek help and speak to a trusted person if they are experiencing emotional distress.”

Meanwhile, the body of the student was handed over to her parents on Monday by the police in Goa.

A report in the Supreme Court Observer noted that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported a 65 per cent jump in student suicides in India from 2013 to 2023. It also cited another report, which said the number of student suicides now outnumbers farmer suicides.

The IC3 Institute, a volunteer-driven organisation, recently released its report, "Student Suicides: An Epidemic Sweeping India.” It mentioned that over 13,000 students in India commit suicide every year.“Over the last 10 and 20 years, total suicides increased 2 per cent annually on average while student suicides increased 4 per cent,” the report noted.

Its report also had a warning from the Unicef report, 'The State of the World's Children', noting“one in seven young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in India experiences poor mental health, including symptoms of depression, and disinterest.

Shockingly, only 41 per cent of those surveyed felt the need to seek support when dealing with mental health challenges.”