Online suicide at IIM-L baffles people

LUCKNOW: In a bizarre incident, a 22-year-old post-graduate student committed 'online suicide' at the Indian Institute of Management-Lucknow, by hanging himself in his hostel room on September 22, 2004. This is the first-ever incident of its kind in the country.

Surprisingly, while the police did not recover any suicide note from the room, they recovered a web cam attached to his laptop. According to the police officers investigating the case, the web cam was probably set up by the student himself and it seems that he wanted to record his suicide. A quick inspection of the laptop by the police also revealed a number of hazy pictures of this bizarre episode.

The student, Birkariya Sikri Handsdah, hailed from a small place called Mayurbhanj in Orissa. He came from a lower middle class family and according to reports, was eagerly looking forward to campus recruitment so as to be able to repay the loan he took for his education. However, what has surprised all, is the way in which he chose to end his life and the attempt to record it using the web cam.

According to the police sources, just before his death Handsdah had gone through an asphyxiation Website. "When we did a through search of his laptop, we found that he was surfing this website that tells about different ways to commit suicide on its front page," informed, Superintendent Police (Trans-Gomti), Raju Babu Singh.

Meanwhile IIM-Lucknow is abuzz with different theories about Handsdah's intention of web casting his suicide. While some of the students feel he could not have 'web cast' his final moments as the institution had a well-defined firewall in place.

Police, however, believe that the presence of the web cam attached to his laptop is proof enough that his intentions were to web cast his final moments on the Internet. The police also found his nude photograph, with a rope around his neck on his laptop.

When contacted, IIM-Lucknow Director, Devi Singh said that it is indeed a shocking and one-of-its-kind incident, which has baffled everyone in the campus.