AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
While police are still awaiting fo rensic science laboratory (FSL) reports to establish the cause of death of the last two BITS Pilani students who died on campus, the Goa government’s assertion in the Legislative Assembly that all five deaths were suicides has hurt parents and drawn sharp criticism from them. While the reason for committing suicide is mentioned as ‘stress over ex ams’ in four cases and in the fifth case, ‘depression over the suicide committed by his girlfriend’. South Goa Superintendent of Police Tikam Singh Verma con firmed that the cause of death in the last two cases has not been finalised as the police are “wait ing for the FSL report.” Despite this, during the 12th session of the Goa Legislative Assembly, the government stat ed that all five student deaths at BITS Pilani, Sancoale, were suicides. The statement has not gone down well with parents. “I do not know how the gov ernment can say my son com mitted suicide due to exam stress when no exams were go ing on, nor were any scheduled to begin when he passed away on August 16 last year,” said Vi nod Kumar Jain, speaking over the phone from Lucknow. Jain said a video conference was held in September 2025 with Goa government officials, during which he explained in detail why he suspected foul play in his son’s sudden death. They had no explanation for the issues I raised,” he said. Jain’s son was the fourth student found dead in his hostel room. According to the father, the student had shown no signs of distress when he last spoke to his family.
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“I have still not been informed of the exact cause of my son’s death. Neither the autopsy report nor the viscera analysis has been shared with me,” Jain said, reiterating that he does not believe his son died by suicide due to exam stress. The father of another student, who requested anonym ity, alleged that investigating officers were attempting to shift the blame onto parents. “There have been attempts to say my son took his life because I was putting pressure on him. I don’t know where they got that idea. It would be better if they came clean instead of trying to shield some one,” he said. O Heraldo investigations earlier revealed (‘BITS Pilani student’s autopsy reveals presence of narcotics,’ Septem ber 11, 2025) that narcotics — including ecstasy, amphet amine and MDMA — were found in the intestinal sample, and sedatives in the blood sample of the last victim. A high quantity of a prescription drug was found in samples of the fourth victim. “Medically,” claimed a member of the Goa Police inves tigating team, “one autopsy report said the victim had choked. Drugs may have been found, but they were not the cause of death.” The officer maintained that parental pressure was the cause of death in at least one case. “There is corroborative evidence to prove the boy was being har assed by his parent. The truth will come out at the right time,” he said, declining to share details. In Starred LAQ No 004A, which questioned the role of narcotics in the student deaths, the Home Minister in formed the House that during a raid in the vicinity of BITS Pilani, the ANC police caught a delivery rider one kilometre from the campus with 226 grams of suspected ganja. There are allegations that the smell of narcotics smoke is not uncommon outside the campus and that security checks on delivery personnel are often cursory. A Special Committee formed to comply with Supreme Court guidelines on student safety and mental health, af ter interacting with students and staff, has recommended changes in the curriculum and the introduction of a more robust counselling system. “The syllabus has been changed and counselling support has been made more student-friendly. We are dealing with Gen Z — it’s different,” said a committee member. Anoth er added, “During our time, we had coffee to stay awake. Some students told us they use what they believe are soft drugs to cope.” Some students, however, find the new restrictions intru sive. “Why should we be scanned for drugs at the campus entrance?” asked one student. “The government should check its borders for drugs entering the State, not us.”
