BITS Pilani Goa student found dead in hostel, police register unnatural death case

A tragic incident unfolded at the BITS Pilani's Goa campus when 20-year-old Kushagra Jain, a third-year dual-degree student in Economics and Computer Science, was found dead in his hostel room.

The Verna Police have registered a case of unnatural death, and further investigations are underway.

According to official statements and media reports, the student was discovered lying in a sideward sleeping position, unresponsive on his bed at around 11 am.

His hostel room was locked from the inside, prompting authorities to break it open upon learning he was unreachable.

BITS Pilani issued a statement expressing deep grief and confirmed that a medical team arrived promptly and pronounced his death as occurring in his sleep. The institute said it is fully cooperating with the police investigation.

This tragedy comes just months after three other student deaths were reported on the same campus — all suspected suicides. Those earlier cases prompted the administration to initiate measures including extra counselling support, a 24/7 helpline, and workflow adjustments to assist students in distress.

A source close to the campus informed The Goan newspaper that Kushagra had returned to the campus on Aug 11, and his absence was noticed when he didn’t respond to attempts to contact him. Friends then alerted the hostel warden, who discovered him inside the locked room.

As the campus community reels from this loss, investigators await the post-mortem report, which will determine the exact cause of death.