IIT-B student’s parents ask students to support protest, seek external inquiry

Parents of an IIT-B student who died by suicide seek an external inquiry and urge students protesting on campus to support their demand for a fair probe.

The parents of an IIT Bombay student, who allegedly died by suicide last week, have appealed to students protesting on the campus on Saturday to support their demand for a fair and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Campus protesters demand a change in the team investigating the case. (Praful Gangurde)

The parents, who began an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan on Thursday evening, shared a video message for the students on Saturday, saying they wanted the IIT Bombay community to stand together and seek changes in the way the case is being handled.

They said that the Mumbai Police did not allow them to continue their protest at the site on Saturday and Sunday as permission was not being given for the two days. The parents said they respect the law and order situation and have decided to continue their protest at Azad Maidan from Monday.

In the video message, the student’s parents said that instead of getting time to mourn the death of their son, they had faced what they described as “continued harassment” from the police.

The father also raised concerns over the statement issued by the IIT Bombay administration about an alleged cheating incident involving the student. He said the administration should not have released such information without a fair and proper inquiry.

According to the parents, the statement resulted in a public discussion about their son’s character and affected the family at a time when they were mourning his death. They said the damage caused by the statement could not be corrected by what they called a “half-hearted apology”.

Apart from demanding that an external investigation committee be formed to conduct a fair inquiry into the case, they also demanded that Professor Suryanarayana Doolla be removed from all responsibilities until the investigation is completed.

They said the IIT Bombay administration should fully cooperate with the investigation and ended their message with an appeal to the students and the institute community to “stand united” and work towards a more empathetic IIT Bombay.

Meanwhile, students protesting at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) held a candlelight march on Friday night from the Justice Corner at the main gate to Hostel 4 to mark one week since the death by suicide of a second-year student on the campus, who stayed in Hostel 4, and demanding a change in the team investigating the case.