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IIT Delhi professor booked for negligence over researcher’s death
Ahmedabad (rural) police superintendent Om Prakash Jat said a First Information Report was lodged against Yama Dixit on the complaint of 23-year-old scholar Surbhi Verma’s father
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi assistant professor Yama Dixit has been booked for alleged negligence over the death of 23-year-old scholar Surbhi Verma in Gujarat’s Lothal following the collapse of a trench during a research trip in November.
Verma, a PhD scholar, was collecting soil samples as part of a four-member team conducting paleoclimate research near the archaeological remains of the Harappan port town of Lothal. The researchers dug a 15-foot-deep trench as part of the study allegedly without the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)’s approval and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) .
Dixit sustained injuries even as she was rescued from the pit and hospitalised. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against her on March 23, charging her with causing death by negligence and endangering human life or personal safety. The FIR alleged that Verma was made to enter the pit despite lacking experience. It added that no safety measures were in place.
Ahmedabad (rural) police superintendent Om Prakash Jat said the FIR was lodged on the complaint of Verma’s father, Ram Khelavan Verma, 58, of Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur. “It is a bailable offence.”
Jat said the case was filed after a probe which involved consultations with experts from the ASI, IIT Delhi, etc. “Our probe found that the research team did not have ASI approval for excavation.”
Jat said there are no SOPs to determine whether a pit will be stable before excavation. “It is a case of negligence,” he said. He added that IIT Delhi has initiated the process of formulating SOPs.
Jat said the researchers were investigating whether shifts in water flow, rainfall patterns, and other environmental factors contributed to Lothal’s downfall. “Excavation, combined with soil analysis and carbon dating, could help uncover the truth,” Jat said.
In his complaint, Verma’s father said his daughter travelled to Gujarat with Dixit for a project she had no prior knowledge of. On November 27, she accompanied Dixit and two IIT Gandhinagar professors to Lothal for the study. Dixit selected a site near the road and had a trench dug using an excavator. When Dixit and Verma entered the trench to collect samples, the wall collapsed, killing Verma due to asphyxiation.
Verma’s family initially sought ₹1.5 crore in compensation but received ₹43 lakh from IIT Delhi as per the institute’s norms.
Lothal in Gujarat’s Bhāl region is a key archaeological site that has provided valuable insights into the Indus Valley Civilization. Dating back to 3300 BCE, it was a major maritime trade centre featuring one of the world’s earliest known docks. Excavations at the site have found evidence of advanced urban planning, a sophisticated drainage system, and of trade networks.
