KOLKATA/KHARAGPUR: A fourth-year mechanical engineering student of IIT-Kharagpur was found dead in his hostel room Friday morning, three days after he returned to the institute after a two-month summer break.Ritam Mondal, 21, from Kolkata was pursuing a five-year dual degree programme, and his classes had begun on Thursday.This is the fourth unnatural death at the institute in past seven months.Police have initiated an investigation and the IIT has set up a five-member panel to probe the incident.Police suspect Ritam died by suicide and preliminary inquiries suggest he might have had a tiff with his family. However, an official statement will only be issued after an autopsy at Midnapore Medical College Hospital on Saturday. “The exact cause of death will be known after the autopsy,” a district police officer said.“Ritam’s father, Uttam Mondal, panicked after he did not pick his calls and contacted a hostel employee to check on his son. The employee found the student hanging,” said a source.The institute’s security response and medical teams, director, senior administrative officials, and police officials reached the hostel. Ritam’s parents arrived in the afternoon.Another boarder said Ritam had returned to his room after dinner Thursday night and they had not noticed any abnormalities in his behaviour. He shared the hostel room with two other students, but they had not returned to the institute after the summer break.A statement issued by IIT-Kharagpur said as per records with the institute’s Sarth counselling centre, there were no indicators of any mental health issue. The faculty adviser of his department also claimed there was no apparent academic or non-academic issue of concern.IIT-Kharagpur director Prof Suman Chakraborty said: “I have asked a fact-finding panel to provide a concrete and detailed report on the incident after gathering information from the department, hostel, counselling centre and hospital. The committee will also speak to hostel employees and his friends.”