2026 classroom incident On March 24, 2026, a major controversy after a video went viral showing an adjunct professor, Dr. Muralidhar Deshpande, making communal remarks and allegedly calling a Muslim student a "terrorist" multiple times during a classroom session. The university subsequently suspended the professor pending an internal inquiry, stating that it "does not condone discriminatory behaviour." The incident led to a police complaint filed by the
National Students' Union of India and widespread calls for stricter faculty code of conduct and sensitivity training on campus.
2023 suicides On July 17, 2023, a student committed suicide by jumping off the eighth floor of a building on the university campus. The deceased was later identified as Aditya Prabhu, a 19-year old
Bachelor of Technology student of the university. The incident occurred after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during an examination. The university also caught flak for leaked screenshots from a college group where a member of the administration was seen encouraging students to support the university by countering backlash with positive posts about the university. In response, the university released a statement refuting the charges of harassment and against their policy on malpractice during examinations. Expressing regret, the statement claimed that Aditya was escorted for carrying a mobile phone with material related to the examination and that he was counselled to stay calm and would be given the opportunity to explain his side of the story before he left the room. It went on to refute "all charges that are being made regarding the process and all the lies that are being circulated by opinions on our staff and the welfare of our students". Three members of the faculty, who were present with Aditya were later charged with abetting suicide. On October 28, 2023: Another case of student suicide was reported at PES University. Surya M Achar, a third-year student pursuing B.Tech. Computer Science from the Electronic City branch of PES University ended his life by jumping from the college building.
2020 suicides January 30, 2020 incident On January 30, 2020, Arcade building next to Le,Arabia JP nagar reported the first student death at the university. The student, identified as Carasala Rahul, a 21-year-old B.Tech. student, died after jumping off the fourth floor of a campus building. PES University responded to the incident, stating that Rahul, who had an excellent academic record, arrived on campus but did not enter the exam hall. The university emphasized its cooperation with the authorities, providing access to information and surveillance footage to assist in the investigation. An anonymous social media post alleged that Rahul was barred from taking his exam due because he was late and the management warned him he would get a backlog. The post stated: “The suicide today has been confirmed, it was no accident. The student was a third-year student whose exam was at 8:30. He arrived at 9 and was not allowed to write the end-semester exam. He was even told he would get a backlog and wouldn't be able to sit for placements."
Investigation and response In light of these incidents, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has requested the chief secretary to investigate the suicides at PES University. A police officer stated, "We are talking to students to understand if the management is going hard on them and if there is any academic pressure. Three suicide cases in a row is a matter of grave concern.” ==References ==