The family of an IIT-Bombay student, who allegedly died by suicide on Sunday, said on Wednesday that the 18-year-old faced caste discrimination at the premier institute and suspect that he was “murdered”.
The student died after he allegedly jumped off the eighth floor of his hostel building at the Powai campus of the institute on Sunday afternoon.
“My brother was murdered. The institute is trying to protect its reputation by calling it a suicide. All his life, he strongly condemned suicide. He would casually tell me how the upper caste students looked down upon fellow students belonging to the lower caste,” the deceased’s sister said.
She said her brother’s “mysterious death posed many questions” and sought a probe into the incident. “We had spoken to him a few hours before his death and he sounded alright. He also wished our cousin’s daughter as it was her birthday,” she said.
She also alleged that several other students belonging to “lower” castes were mocked by students from “upper” castes for “enjoying freebies in education at such a great institute”.
HT tried to reach out to the institute for a comment on the allegations but did not get one immediately.
The deceased’s father said he received a call from the dean of the faculty at 2.30pm on Sunday, saying his son had met with an accident and that the family should reach the institute as soon as possible.
“On reaching the institute, we were told that my son is no more and that he had died by suicide. I was not allowed to see him as the post-mortem exam was to be done the next day… We were later told that the post-mortem was done. It was carried out without our consent,” the father said.
“The institute made a WhatsApp call to us, which cannot be recorded, which raises our suspicion further,” he added.
The family is scheduled to hold a prayer meeting on Thursday.
An accidental death report was registered following the teen’s death on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the institute said it has always tried to ensure the campus is as inclusive as possible, with zero tolerance towards any form of discrimination.
On Wednesday, IIT-B’s SC/ST cell met with representatives of Ambedkar Phule Periyar Study Circle (APPSC), a students’ collective at the institute, and decided to interact with students who complained of discrimination on the campus.
APPSC also demanded the director’s resignation for alleged lack of support towards students belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe. There were “consistent attempts by the administration, including the director, to outrightly deny any caste discrimination on campus”, it said in a statement, adding that when students sought a discussion on the subject, they were accused of “harming the prestige of this premier institute”.
“The unwillingness to appoint SC/ST counsellors even after our complaints shows the blatant disregard towards students,” they added.
Meanwhile, Union minister of state for social justice Ramdas Athawale visited the campus on Wednesday and demanded a thorough probe into the matter and allegations of caste discrimination.
Calling it a “serious incident”, Athawale said: “In 2014, a Dalit student ended his life in a similar way. Six months ago, another student outside IIT-B died by suicide. Such incidents are increasing and require a probe.” He added that both the Maharashtra and Gujarat governments will provide financial aid to the family.