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40 injured as NIT Silchar students clash with police after suicide on campus
Cachar district superintendent of police (SP) Numal Mahatta said that a large number of students gathered in front of the residence of institute dean (academics) BK Roy and vandalised his entire house
Students’ agitation at the Silchar National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Assam turned violent on Friday night as they clashed with the police during a protest which was being held following the death of a third-year electrical engineering student who allegedly died by suicide inside the campus.
The body of a third-year student identified as Koj Buker was found hanging in the room of hostel-7 of the institute on Friday. The students didn’t allow the authorities to take the body for around two hours until police intervened.
The students allegedly vandalised the residence of some senior professors and clashed with the police resulting in injuries to some 40 students after police resorted to lathi-charge.
The police said they had to resort to mild use of force to disperse the agitating students after tensions escalated.
Cachar district superintendent of police (SP) Numal Mahatta said that a large number of students gathered in front of the residence of institute dean (academics) BK Roy and vandalised his entire house.
“They attacked the police and other officials too. At one point we had to lathicharge to control the situation and we are now investigating the matter further,” he said.
Mahatta said that they may take legal action against the students for vandalising government property, attacking government officials and other illegal activities.
In the lathi charge, many students got injuries and they rushed to Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) for treatment. As per the SMCH records, at least 40 students were given treatments till 1am and some of the injuries were critical, according the people familiar with the matter.
Buker, a resident of Arunachal Pradesh allegedly hung himself after he failed exams and couldn’t clear his back papers.
According to some students, their first semester in 2021 was conducted online. “Due to lockdown, he (Buker) was at home. He failed to attend the classes due to lack of internet facility and the authorities slapping six backlogs on him,” a student said.
Buker was not allowed to go to classes in the fifth semester and was allegedly insulted by the dean in front of the other students a few days back, according to the students.
“He appealed to the authorities to conduct a special examination so that he can clear the backlogs. Yesterday, he went to Professor BK Roy and he was badly insulted. He locked himself inside his room and later his dead body was found hanging,” a third-year student said.
Police said that they recovered the dead body at around 7pm on Friday.
Dilip Kumar Baidya, Silchar NIT director, said that some students fail in academics and take improper steps. “We have sympathy for the student who died but he had a bad academic performance. Some students fail and they come with illegitimate demands,” he said.
Baidya also said that the students who became violent had no sympathy for the person who died. “I doubt, these students have sympathy for that boy who died. There must be something else behind the violence and it’ll come out in the investigation,” he added.
Meanehile, the students have claimed that they were treated inhumanly by the dean and others several times. The director has, however, denied the allegations.
After the incident, Cachar’s district commissioner Rohan Kumar Jha, accompanied by other officials, visited NIT Silchar on Friday night. He said that they have formed a committee to investigate the matter.
He said that if the violence continues, they may close the institute temporarily. “We were there when students attacked the government officials. They hit the SP with a water bottle on his nose. Police and authorities handled the situation on Friday night, but if such violence continues, we have to close the institute temporarily,” he said.
The students however said that they’ll democratically continue their protest on Saturday as well.
“We were protesting in a democratic manner but police lathi-charged us which turned the situation violent. Our fellow student died because of their wrong decisions. We will ontinue our protest till justice is served,” said the protesting students.
Police said that following the incidents of violence and clashes with the police, a company of the Central Reserve Police Force have been deployed at NIT Silchar campus and the family members of the deceased student have been contacted.
