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‘Don’t show your face again’: Did Sharda University student suicide follow week of faculty humiliation?
A BDS student at Sharda University of Greater Noida died by suicide after facing alleged harassment from faculty over signature forgery claims.
The project files of the second-year BDS student at Sharda University of Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida have become central to an ongoing investigation into her suicide on July 18, after days of reportedly facing jibes by faculty for forging a signature.
The student was found dead in her hostel room, days after being accused of forging a professor's signature - a charge that left her visibly distressed, according to classmates. The student was reportedly told to “not show her face” in class again.
According to a friend and batchmate of the deceased, here’s what happened between July 10 and 18.
July 10
The 21-year-old had been pulled into a controversy over a denture sample submission for her dental materials course on July 10.
“She was in tears after this... The professor scolded her and asked her not to show her face in class again. She said she had not forged any sign. I told her to let it go but she was in distress,” a TOI report quoted the close friend and batchmate.
July 14
Following the incident, the student's father was called to campus on July 14. He later told police that during the meeting with the department head and professors, he had raised concerns about his daughter being harassed.
"They were assured by the HOD that there will be no issues henceforth with her samples and obtaining signatures," said the student's friend. The version of events of the student's father matched what her friends shared with the media.
Still, the student reportedly told friends that although the HOD was cordial to her father, some professors remained hostile.
The professor who initially confronted her is among two faculty members now under arrest and in judicial custody. In a note left behind, She explicitly accused them of mental harassment.
July 16
Despite the turmoil, She appeared to be regaining her composure. On July 16, she surprised friends with a short haircut. "She said, 'I just need a change.' I complimented her, saying the look really suited her. But something was amiss. To me, it felt like it was part of her coping mechanism because, internally, she was still hurting from the sign controversy," the friend said.
That same day, tensions escalated. According to the police complaint of the student's father, she was reprimanded by another professor during a preclinical prosthodontics class for "complaining too much." It remains unclear what this referred to.
July 18 - The taunts
On Friday, July 18, she attended morning classes and worked on her lab submissions after an afternoon class was cancelled. Around this time, she reportedly revisited the staff room to get a professor's signature.
"She was in anguish when she returned from the staff room. She told me the professor had told her, 'tum toh apna sign khud hi kar leti ho' [you sign your own projects] and made fun of her," the report quoted the friend. When she approached another professor to sign her PCP samples, she was again accused of forgery.
"She went back crying to the lab to redo her samples. Around 4pm, she said that she was going to her room," the friend recalled. After that, only a fellow hosteller saw her. Her mother said her call around 5pm went unanswered. She later spent time in another student's room, where she reportedly cried and gave study advice before returning to her own room. By 9pm, she was found dead.
Based on the father's police complaint, five faculty members, including the dean and HOD of the dental school, have been named in the FIR. Sharda University has formed a committee to investigate.
Unanswered questions
Answers to why the student's submissions were repeatedly flagged remain a mystery. If she was being unfairly targeted or was there a valid concern about earlier documentation is yet to be ascertained. While her classmates said they knew of no prior issues, the university has yet to provide a public explanation.
"She was doing BDS, and to get a license, an audit takes place by a government official," a faculty member said, according to the report. "If her practicals were not up to the mark and the professors asked her to redo it, she should have taken things positively. If an audit finds practicals not up to the mark, even a college's license can be suspended."
However, a classmate disputed the claim. "She had scored 368 out of 600 in the first year. It is necessary to submit the project file before appearing in the written exam. Jyoti was under stress because she did not have a sign."
Police and university investigations are underway to determine whether academic pressure and alleged faculty conduct contributed to Jyoti's death - and whether proper support was in place for students under distress.
