IIT Kanpur Mourns The Sudden Demise Of Esteemed Professor Sameer Khandekar At Alumni Event

A senior professor, Sameer Khandekar, aged 55, passed away on Friday at IIT Kanpur following a cardiac arrest while delivering a speech at an alumni meet event in the university auditorium. During his address on maintaining good health, Khandekar's final advice to students was to "Take care of your health." Immediately after this statement, he appeared uneasy and experienced chest pain, initially perceived by the audience as emotional distress.

Although he briefly sat down, Khandekar's condition worsened, with sweating and a subsequent collapse on stage. Despite prompt transportation to the hospital, he was declared dead. Dr. Neeraj Kumar, stating preliminary findings, indicated that Khandekar may have succumbed to cardiac arrest or cardiac block, pending confirmation in the postmortem report.

Khandekar, who had battled cholesterol since 2019, was on continuous medication. Survived by his parents, wife, and son, the latter, a student at Cambridge University, is set to perform the final rites. Hailing from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Khandekar earned his B.Tech from IIT Kanpur and pursued a PhD in Germany. Joining IIT Kanpur in 2004, he progressed from assistant professor to associate professor, eventually serving as the Department Head of Mechanical Engineering and Dean of Student Welfare. Khandekar also boasted eight patents to his credit.