BENGALURU/AHMEDABAD: A student at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), was found dead on his campus hostel premises early Sunday, hours after celebrating his 29th birthday with friends by cutting a cake.
Nilay Kailashbhai Patel, from Surat, was a second-year student of Post-Graduate Programme (PGP) in Management. He had secured a placement in a fashion e-commerce company, and he was to start work on Monday, according to his friends.
Nilay’s LinkedIn profile identified him as an alumnus of Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) as he had completed his BTech in computer engineering in 2019. After passing out, he worked with OYO for more than three years in Bengaluru where he worked on consumer interface. The profile also mentioned his prowess with computer languages such as C and C++. At IIM Bangalore, he was part of the national runners-up team of BCG ReDesign Case competition.
Citing early investigations, Mico Layout police said Patel was found unconscious in the hostel lawn around 6.30am by security guards. They immediately alerted their seniors. A medical team rushed to the spot and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). As he didn’t respond, they took him to hospital on Bannerghatta Road where he was declared brought dead.
Barring bruises, the body bore no major external injuries. It is suspected he accidentally fell from the second-floor balcony of the hostel building while going to his room at midnight, a senior police officer said.
“However, Patel’s hostelmates claimed they didn’t hear any noise. There is no official complaint about his death. His parents, who live in Gujarat, have been alerted about his death, and we are waiting for their arrival. Based on their complaint, we will register a case accordingly and investigate further,” the officer added.
It appears it is not a case of suicide, as there is no suicide note or indication that Patel had any issues to take the extreme step, the officer said.
Patel, who had very few friends in the college, went to one of his friend’s rooms as they had invited him to celebrate his birthday. His friends told police they celebrated his birthday by cutting the cake around midnight. Patel left for his room on the second floor sometime after cutting the cake. The friends said they are not aware of what happened to him after that.
The exact time of the incident is not yet known, as no one saw him falling. The post-mortem will reveal the exact cause of death and time.
IIM-B said in a statement, “It is with profound sadness that IIM-Bangalore shares the news of the untimely passing of our PGP 2023-25 student, Nilay Kailashbhai Patel. A bright and popular student, and a much-loved friend to many, Nilay will be sorely missed by the entire IIM-B family. In this difficult time, we request consideration, respect, and privacy for him and his family.”
