Dhanbad: An assistant professor of IIT (ISM) Dhanbad allegedly drowned while swimming in the pool of the institute this morning. He was initially taken to the IIT (ISM) health centre and then referred to Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College Hospital (SNMMCH). An investigation has been initiated in this connection, police said.
The deceased, Yashwant Ujala, had gone for swimming in the pool in the institute's campus along with his friends According to eye witnesses Ujala dived into the pool but did not come out. It is being suspected that he might have ventured into deep waters due to which the accident occurred. Some of his colleagues noticed it and immediately pulled him out of the water. He was admitted to the health centre. However, in view of the seriousness of his condition, he was shifted to SNMMCH but he succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.
IIT (ISM) Director Professor P Rajeev Shekhar, Deputy Director Professor Dheeraj Kumar and other professors and students have reached the hospital. Ujala hailed from Odisha and his family currently lives in Kolkata. One of his brothers is an assistant professor in IIT Rourkela. The Sadar police of Dhanbad has started probing the matter and the body has been sent for post-mortem. Preliminarily it appears to be a case of drowning but the actual cause of death will be determined in the post-mortem report.
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Many events were scheduled to be organised in IIT (ISM) today wherein Union Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi was supposed to preside over as the chief guest. Presently, all events have been postponed following the tragic incident, institute officials said. Among the inaugurations that were to be done by the Union minister included multipurpose building of ISM and the Third Jharkhand School Innovation Challenge.
