As per information shared by the police, an Arunachal Pradesh student enrolled in the third semester of the electrical engineering course at NIT Silchar allegedly hanged himself in the college hostel on Friday night after failing his exams and not being able to clear the backlog.
Following the incident, the fellow students besieged the Registrar’s official apartment late on Friday night and started protesting which led them to a physical altercation with the police. The police used force to disperse the students, as per reports.
As reported, the protestors claimed that the demised student had asked the college administration for permission to enrol for the following semester, which they denied. However, the NIT authorities said that the student had “issues” since his first year which might have ultimately led to the untimely demise of the student, as per information.
The protesting students are reported to be furious over the college administration’s recent introduction of certain new rules.
“Our student, our senior, committed suicide, and we were peacefully protesting, but the NIT Silchar administration didn’t even bother to stop by and speak to us. They lathi-charged us and unleashed the police on us,” one protesting student shared.
Considering the unrest situation in the institute, an emergency meeting was held among Cachar district officials, police, and NIT Silchar administration to discuss the current scenario. The institute might remain closed till things are under control informed the sources.
“The purported suicide occurred in the evening, and we are all quite saddened by it. We reacted without delay. However, with this student, I am told there were issues right from the start of the first year; there were some backlogs, and because of these backlogs, he could not move with his batch and that may have created depression.” Dilip Kumar Baidya, director of NIT Silchar, said in his statement.
He further added, “There are some resentments among the students, which are on a case-by-case basis and we are looking into it.”
However, according to the police, the Dean’s official residence was broken into and cars were vandalised.
“The students became violent, as they were really upset, and even as we were negotiating with them, they began hurling water bottles at us. If the situation does not improve, the district administration will take some steps,” said Rohan Kumar Jha, deputy commissioner of Cachar.
The police have recovered the body and sent it for a post-mortem after a case of unnatural death was registered.