Assam: NIT Silchar student's suicide leads to violent clashes between students and police

Digital Desk: Massive protests broke out at Silchar’s National Institute of Technology (NIT) after an Arunachal Pradesh student committed suicide in his hostel room as a result of poor performance in exams due to which he couldn’t clear his back.

According to sources, the student kept requesting the college administration to register him for the next semester as he was frustrated and depressed over his back mark in a subject. However, his request was denied. Dean Academic Dr. BK Roy's resignation is now being demanded by the students.

The deceased was in his third year of Electrical Engineering. According to his classmate's testimony, he failed to attend some online classes during the lockdown due to poor internet facilities in his state. 

He was not allowed to sit for the next semester due to backs, therefore today he went to the Dean to ask for permission to be allowed for admission in the next semester. He went to his hostel when the Dean refused at around five o'clock. Later we saw him hanging," one of the students said on condition of anonymity.

The student further claimed that the college administration is now attempting to place the blame on the victims by saying that he was depressed as a result of his backlogs since the first semester.

A clash between students and the police occurred after police allegedly forced their way into the hostel to recover the deceased body.

Police stated that the students tried to vandalize police vehicles as well as the dean's residence, despite the protesting students' claims that the agitation turned violent once the police deployed tear gas on them.

Rohan Kumar Jha, the deputy commissioner of Cachar, stated, "We rushed to the scene as soon as it was reported. The student's behavior was a little bit unruly. They not only vandalized a few cars but also the residence of the dean was completely ransacked. We made an effort to communicate with them. However, several of them continued to throw bottles at us while we were discussing the matter."

"NIT will set up an inquiry committee. We have determined that we must also take some significant actions if the situation does not improve," he added.