IITKGP alumni start signature campaign seeking justice for Faizan

“The IIT Kharagpur administration needs to undertake effective measures to stop such incidents in the future,” reads the memorandum, which will be sent to IIT Kharagpur Director VK Tewari. 

Alumni of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have started a signature campaign demanding justice for Faizan Ahmed, a third-year BTech student from Assam, whose semi-decomposed body was found in his hostel room on October 14. 

The campaign has received support from more than 400 signatories. An open-house discussion was also held between students and IIT Kharagpur Director VK Tewari, wherein the students argued that the institute has witnessed five suicides in the past three years but the authorities have not done anything to address their mental health issues. They demanded immediate resignation of the Director for his failure in handling “lapses” that occurred following the incident.  

Admn should build support system for students under academic pressure: Alumni

“The IIT Kharagpur administration needs to undertake effective measures to stop such incidents in the future,” reads the memorandum, which will be sent to IIT Kharagpur Director VK Tewari. "We are supporting the students and scholars' demands. There has been lapse in handling the situation on the part of the administration," said Arindam Ray, an alumni. "The administration has to build a support system for students, who are under tremendous academic pressure. There has always been a lukewarm response towards mental health. It's high time they took it seriously."  

Tthe mother of the deceased alleged that her son could not have died by suicide and demanded a proper probe into the matter. Aniruddha Mitra, the lawyer hired by the Ahmed’s family, said if they were not given the report at the earliest, they would file a petition in the high court expressing dissatisfaction with the probe by the Kharagpur police.   

Read more: 

• Student’s death sparks outrage among students at IITKGP 
• BTech student hangs herself to death in Hyderabad