IIT-Bombay student death: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale seeks independent probe, calls for Prof Doola's suspension

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Friday demanded an independent investigation into the death of an Indian Institute of Technology IITBombay student saying the probe should be conducted separately from the institute administration news agency ANI reportedHe also said he would write to Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi and seek a meeting with him over the matterAthawale stated that he met the IITBombay Director and other senior officials to discuss the case and put forward several demands including action against then dean Prof Suryanarayana Doola who had confiscated the studentrsquos mobile phone during an examinationldquoAt least four students have committed suicide here in the last two to three years Out of those three students were from the Scheduled Caste community So I feel the question of whether discrimination is happening here was also raised by us before the Dean Why are Scheduled Caste students committing suicide Is there an attempt being made to humiliate themrdquo said the Union MinisterHe also stated that he would approach Joshi over the issueldquoI am also going to write a letter to Pralhad Joshi our Minister and will be meeting him as well Why is this happening in an institution like IIT Why are students committing suicide Extremely bright students come here securing their ranks among lakhs of candidatesrdquo Athawale saidAthawale demands action against former dean independent probe into studentrsquos deathHe stressed that students studying at an institution such as IITBombay should not be subjected to circumstances that could push them towards suicideldquoWe have demanded that Dean Doola who confiscated Sahils mobile phone at that time should be immediately suspended We have made this demand and a full investigation should also be conducted independent of the IIT administrationrdquo Athawale saidSpeaking to reporters Athawale stated that he had visited the studentrsquos hostel room and that it was locked while the police were investigating the matterAccording to Athawale the student who hailed from Yavatmal had secured admission to IITBombay after ranking around 631st among at least 15 million candidates He said that during a semester examination on September 18 the dean raised an objection against the student alleging that he was copying and confiscated his mobile phone The student died later that dayldquoI believe there must be a thorough investigation into the suicide Strict action must be taken against whoever is responsible whether professors the dean or anyone else We have demanded this as this incident is extremely tragic and unacceptable at IITrdquo he addedAthawale also said the studentrsquos parents had been seeking access to CCTV footage showing his movements before and after the examinationStudentrsquos parents seek CCTV footage from hostel to examination hallldquoRegarding the CCTV footage his father and mother are continuously demanding to see it as it hasnt been shown to them They have requested the police to show the CCTV footage from when Sahil left the hostel took his exam and returnedrdquo he saidThe student a secondyear BTech student died on the evening of September 18 His family has alleged harassment and castebased discrimination while the institute has maintained that the examination incident is being investigatedWith ANI inputs