MUMBAI: Parents of the IIT-Bombay (IIT-B) student who died by suicide have sought permission to visit the campus on October 18 to pay tribute to their son, marking one month since his death. The parents, who are currently protesting at Azad Maidan, are demanding the arrest of professor Suryanarayan Doolla and justice for their son.
“He assured us he would give us permission to visit the campus on October 18,” he said. He told the media the family would continue their protest until the professor was arrested. However, sources in the institute said they haven’t received any request from the student’s family for permission to pay tribute to the boy. The student’s father also said, “The system is trying to damage my son’s image by leaking a video and claiming he was copying before the inquiry is completed. This is wrong,” he said.
The father said they met joint commissioner of police (crime) Anil Kumbhare on Thursday.
The matter is pending in the Bombay High Court The students also raised concerns about there being no communication from the administration with students sitting at the IIT-Bombay’s main gate for the last 29 days. Only 84 of the 775 filled faculty positions at the institute are held by teachers from SC, ST, OBC and EWS categories, according to RTI data cited by the protesters. The protesters demanded a comprehensive law against caste discrimination in higher education, on the lines of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act, 2013, and called for the introduction of a Rohith Act.
Meanwhile, students protesting on campus claimed the professor’s alleged caste bias was not an isolated case. In one such case, a student was suspended by the institute for violating rules. A protester alleged that when the student approached the administration to understand the appeal process, he received no response and was allegedly humiliated when he visited the office of the dean of student affairs. The student later approached the SC/ST Cell, which assured him of assistance, but allegedly failed to provide the required support. Institute authorities did not respond to allegations regarding the SC/ST cell complaint.
They also said they were unhappy with faculty representation at the institute.
They mentioned earlier complaints filed by students against him, claiming the institute’s SC/ST Cell had failed to provide proper assistance.
