IIT Bombay has said that the director of the college has not resigned. The college has declared this news completely wrong on social media.
However, in the case of the death of a student, the college has removed Professor Suryanarayan Dulla from the post of Dean (Administrative Affairs).
The media coordinator of the college told the press that Professor Dulla has been removed from his post, not suspended.
This case has been in the headlines after the dead body of an IIT Bombay student was found in his room on September 18.
After this incident, IIT students have also protested in the college campus.
The student's family alleges that because he was a Dalit, the college teachers discriminated against him and instigated him to commit suicide. However, the college administration has denied this allegation.
According to news agency PTI, after the student's death, IIT Bombay students protested and demanded improvements in the welfare system and more focus on mental health.
Speaking to news agency ANI, one of the protesting students raised questions about the safety of students and transparency in the education system.
He said, "I am studying in the third year of electrical engineering at IIT Bombay. Today we are protesting because a student of our college has committed suicide. We are protesting to demand accountability and transparency from the administration in this matter."
He further said, "This is not the first such incident. There have been four such incidents this year, two of which have happened in the last two months. We have been kept in the dark about why this is happening or what are the reasons for it."
"Our only demand is that the Dean, Director and the administration submit a report. In this, they should investigate the matter, ensure accountability and transparency and guarantee that such incidents will not recur during their tenure," the protesting students demanded.
In view of this protest, Dr. Suryanarayan Dulla has been removed from the post of Dean.
The parents of the deceased student have lodged an FIR against the senior officials of the institute and the concerned officials including the faculty teacher at Powai police station.
The complaint lodged with the police said, "The director of the institute and the faculty teacher used caste based abuses and mentally harassed us. Our son was forced to commit suicide."
IIT Bombay, in its earlier response to the media, has rejected these allegations and said that no such complaint has been received.
But later the institute apologized for this statement.
While apologizing, IIT Bombay had written on the
According to the information recorded in the FIR, for the last 3 months, on the instructions of the director, the faculty teacher used to abuse his son on caste grounds.
It has also been said in the complaint that his son is a Dalit, hence he was harassed and threatened to be implicated in a false case.
On the basis of this complaint, the police have registered a case under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act. Also, it has been said that investigation will be started in this matter.
On this incident, the student's uncle said, "If a bright child commits suicide in this manner, then there should be a CBI inquiry into it. It is being told that he had taken a mobile phone to the examination hall. What was the administration doing, what were the examinees doing? He was not a 10th class child."
He further said, "An IIT student will go to take the exam with a mobile phone. This is not understandable. We were given a message that your child has committed suicide. Is this small message enough for our child? They are not ready to tell anything."
He alleged, "We want to know why the children who died till now were children of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. If this is not caste-based oppression, what else is it?"
Professor Rajkumar Pant, Chairman, IIT Bombay Faculty Forum, told news agency ANI, "Like every institute, we also have a dedicated SC/ST cell for the welfare of students. I spoke to the institute's deputy director, Professor Ravindra Gudy, about this and he told me that according to the SC/ST cell, there had been absolutely no effort made by the deceased student to contact the cell in the last three or four months."
He says, "All we have to say is that we are teachers and are performing our responsibilities as per the instructions of the institute and following the procedures of the institute. Professor Dulla also did the same. There are certain situations where one has to act strictly and he acted strictly as per the rules. But I am personally convinced that he is not the kind of person who would indulge in such acts. I do not see any merit in this claim."
"I believe the Mumbai Crime Branch is investigating this, so we have nothing to say on this matter."
A student studying in the second year of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay was found in his room on the evening of 18 September. After this incident, students demonstrated in the campus raising the issue of transparency and security in the education system.
A report of accidental death has been registered in this case at Powai police station. Mumbai Police has started investigation.
The parents of the deceased student have lodged an FIR against the senior officials of the institute and the concerned officials including the faculty teacher at Powai police station.
In the complaint lodged, it has been said that the director and faculty teacher of the institute used caste based abuses and harassed them mentally. His son was instigated to commit suicide.
