A 23-year-old IT engineer jumped off the eighth floor of the apartment and committed suicide at Kanjikuzhi in Kottayam on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Jacob Thomas C. He stayed with his parents at an apartment at Muttambalam.

According to the First Information Report filed by Kottayam East Police, he died by suicide due to work stress. Jacob was employed in a Kakkanad-based IT firm specialising in cloud-based learning management systems.

The police said that there are reports about him sending a video message to his mother before he jumped off the building. "We have collected his phone and it will be examined. We need to verify the video before making any comment. We didn't come across any suicide note," said a police official. The police said that Jacob committed suicide sometime between midnight and early morning.

Jacob completed his B-Tech from Saintgits College of Engineering, Kottayam, a relative said. He has an elder sister. The family who hails from Punnavely in Pathanamthitta moved to the apartment at Muttambalam five months ago. The police said he joined the firm very recently. His father is employed with a cement manufacturing company.

The funeral will be held at St. James CSI Church, Punnavely, at 11 am. The body was handed over to the relatives after autopsy.