In a sudden move over a 100 students of IIT Madras have been staging protest seeking action against student suicides in the campus from the wee hours of Thursday.
The protesting students alleged that eight have killed self and two have attempted to do so.
These aren’t suicides, but institutionalised murders, they allege .
The students levelled charges of abetment of suicide on mentor Akishkumar Sen and of coverup on dean Nilesh Vasa, in the Sachin Kumar Jain suicide case.
They are seeking to set up an inquiry committee by a judge to probe the suicide.
IIT-Madras made the headlines for wrong reasons on March 31, as a PHD student Sachin Kumar Jain died by suicide at his room. This suicide came after a few more in the institute.
IIT-M was for long in the eye of the storm with complaints of academic pressure and caste bias being levelled against it. The institution has been accused of “ill-treating” Dalit students. Also upper caste dominance been alleged by OBC and SC and ST students
During the year February month Two suicidal incidents stirred unrest among students in IIT Madras.
In two separate incidents a research scholar allegedly killed himself on Monday night while a first year B.Tech student attempted to kill himself and is undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The deceased Steven Sunny, 25, hailing from Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra a second year MS Research scholar in Electrical Engineering department killed himself at his room in Mahanadi hostel.
His friends were suspicious that Sunny did not open the door even after repeated knocks on the door. They informed the hostel warden and broke open the door. They found him dead. He had hanged himself, ” police said.
Police hinted that the student took the extreme decision due to personal reasons. However, the police have taken hold of his gadgets and are investigating.
Also in the same time Kotturpuram police received another information about a student named B Veevesh who was found unconscious in his room.
Afternoon at around 12.30 Veevesh returned to his room in the hostel and did not attend any classes until evening, said the police. His friends who returned to the room at around 5 pm found that the door was locked from inside. They broke open the door and found Veevesh lying unconscious on the floor.
On information, he was rushed to a private hospital where he is being treated. Police said that Veevesh allegedly depressed for the past few weeks and he consumed 21 random tablets, in an attempt to end his life.
Following the two incidents, students staged a sit-in protest inside the campus till 7 am Tuesday after which the IIT Madras management expressed its condolences for the death of a student.
It also mentioned that, “The Institute endeavours and assures to improve and sustain the well-being of the students/scholars, faculty and staff on campus while constantly evaluating the various support systems in place”.
During the month of November 2019 The family of the 18-year-old Fathima Latheef, a first year student of MA humanities and development studies (integrated) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras who was found hanging in her hostel room on Saturday, alleged that harassment of faculty members was the cause of her death.
Her father Abdul Latheef said the suicide note retrieved from her mobile phone clearly indicated the involvement of the teachers.
Fathima joined the five-year integrated course at IIT in July 2019.
Latheef alleged that Tamil Nadu police have been trying to cover up the suicide and spread false information.
Fathima had narrated all the episodes of harassment by her teachers in a notepad on her tablet.
On Saturday, when her mother tried to contact her, the phone continued to be switched off following which she contacted Fathima’s friend and asked her to check. Later, she was informed by the hostel warden that Fathima had committed suicide.
Latheef alleged that the police had not had not listed her mobile phone as an evidence.
