The parents of an IIT Bombay student, who allegedly died by suicide last week, have appealed to students protesting on the campus on Saturday to support their demand for a fair and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
The parents said they respect the law and order situation and have decided to continue their protest at Azad Maidan from Monday. The parents, who began an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan on Thursday evening, shared a video message for the students on Saturday, saying they wanted the IIT Bombay community to stand together and seek changes in the way the case is being handled. They said that the Mumbai Police did not allow them to continue their protest at the site on Saturday and Sunday as permission was not being given for the two days.
The statement resulted in a public discussion about their son’s character and affected the family at a time when they were mourning his death, according to the parents. They said the damage caused by the statement could not be corrected by what they called a “half-hearted apology”. They said the IIT Bombay administration should fully cooperate with the investigation and ended their message with an appeal to the students and the institute community to “stand united” and work towards a more empathetic IIT Bombay.
