NIT-Silchar appoints new dean after protests following campus suicide

Digital Desk: The situation at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Silchar has returned to normal following the acceptance of the requests made by the students that were put forward following the death of their fellow student Koj Buker.

BK Roy, the academic dean, was called upon to resign shortly after Koj Buker's suicide.

A day after the college administration agreed to accept the students' demands, BK Roy was removed from his post and was replaced by Prof Brinda Bhowmick.

The college authorities appointed Prof Brinda Bhowmick from the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering on September 25.

“Prof. Brinda Bhowmick is entitled to admissible allowance as per existing rules of the institute with effect from the date of taking over the charges. The tenure of engagement will be provisionally for two years from the date taking over the charges or till further orders,” the official order reads.

1. Regarding the regrettable circumstances that occurred yesterday, neither the NIT Silchar Administration nor the Cachar Administration should take any action against any of our students.

2. A thorough inquiry into this matter is required, and appropriate action must be taken after the findings.

3. We feel the terrible situation could have been avoided if the administration had worked with the student fraternity, and we demand the immediate resignation of Prof. Binot Krishna Roy, Dean of Academics at NIT Silchar.

4. The NIT Silchar Administration and the Cachar Administration must provide the victim's family with fair compensation and other necessary assistance.

5. With immediate effect, all ongoing disciplinary measures against students that could result in a suicide or mental health crisis must be looked into.

6. Our academic section is not at all student-friendly, as we have observed over time. To bring about academic improvements in the college, we demand a high-level committee to be formed.

It should be noted that on September 15, Koj Buker's body was found hanging mysteriously from a window inside the NIT hostel campus.

It was discovered that the aforementioned engineering student had a backlog on several subjects from his first semester. As a result, the NIT officials refused to let him register for the third year until he cleared his backlog.

Following that, the student decided to consult NIT Academic Dean BK Roy to get help. However, his concerns were not taken into consideration. As a result, the student decided to commit suicide.