Lucknow, September 23
It looks like a morbid reality TV show. Bir Kariya Kisri Handsdah, a 22-year old talented postgraduate student at the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, meticulously planned his own suicide and even recorded it on a web camera the hazy images of which were recorded on his laptop. This experiment not only cut short a brilliant career but also left his teachers and friends too stunned for words.

This first-ever incident of its kind at the picturesque IIM campus on the outskirts of the city has raised various questions that the police are trying to unravel. While there was no suicide note recovered from the room, a web camera, allegedly set up by Handsdah himself, has been found. Also open on his laptop were sites giving graphic details of ways to hang oneself.

Belongings to Rourkela in Orissa, Handsdah’s parents have been informed. His body has been sent for a post-mortem. According to Mr Anil Shahi, SHO, Madion, the suicide is curious in various ways. There was no suicide note. While normally people hang from the ceiling fan, Handsdah chose to hang himself from the ventilator shaft grill above the bathroom door, apparently to get a good view for his web camera. The third curious thing was the body being naked, probably to catch the image better, remarked Mr Shahi. The police is also exploring the angle that Handsdah may have been chatting with someone over the computer and may have orchestrated the whole suicide for that unknown person.