Mumbai: A 10-member committee appointed by the Board of Governors (BoG) of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) has started probing the circumstances surrounding the alleged suicide of a 20-year-old BTech student, who was found dead in his hostel room on September 18, hours after being caught while allegedly using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination.
The committee will examine all aspects of the incident, including allegations levelled by the student’s parents regarding caste-based discrimination leading to his death.
The committee headed by Prof Ramesh Venkateswaran, chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT-Palakkad, was appointed on Tuesday, four days after the student was found dead. It has been asked to submit its report within a week.
A senior IIT-B official said the composition of the committee had been shared with the education ministry and its approval was awaited.
Apart from Prof Venkateswaran, the 10-member committee includes faculty members, students, an administrator, a former vigilance officer and a psychiatrist.
Faculty members on the panel are Prof K Narayanan from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prof Deepti Kalsi from the Department of Chemistry, and Prof Sandip Kumar Saha from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Prof Saha is also the convener of the institute’s SC/ST Students and Staff Cell.
