Political leaders cutting across party lines have demanded a fair probe into the death of 19-year-old Humanities student Fathima Latheef inside her room in the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) campus. Few leaders have also underlined that more suicides are being reported from IIT-M lately.
Fathima Latheef, a student in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in IIT-M, was found dead inside her room in the campus on November 9. Her death sparked outrage after her parents alleged that she was discriminated against by a few professors in her department. Several student groups like the Campus Front of India and Students Federation of India (SFI) conducted protests in front of the campus demanding justice for Fathima Latheef.
MK Stalin, the President of DMK issued a statement on Thursday and said that Fathima’s death has shattered the confidence in her mother’s eyes that Tamil Nadu was a safe place for her.
“As religious hatred is rampant across India, Fathima’s mother has said that she chose to send her daughter to study in Tamil Nadu since it was considered safe. This incident should cause us pain and shame,” the statement said. He also added that efforts to saffronise educational institutions must be given up and all possible efforts must be taken to treat all students equally in institutions including the IIT.
“It is not new that controversies are coming out of IIT-M. Though IIT-M is situated in the capital city of Tamil Nadu, its existence and functioning has always been mysterious,” he said, demanding a fair and transparent probe into the suicide with a deadline.
Speaking to TNM about the protest, V Mariyappan, the Tamil Nadu State Secretary of SFI alleged that in the last year alone five such deaths have happened inside the IIT-M campus, including the death of a professor. Not one of those deaths have been probed properly, he pointed out.
Demanding that the government of Tamil Nadu form a committee to probe Fathima Latheef’s and other deaths that took place inside the IIT-M campus, Mariyappan said, “Fathima’s mother has said that she sent her daughter to Tamil Nadu only because she thought it was safer than any other place. This death has changed that perception and hence there arises a need for Chief Minister to respond to this.”
He also requested IIT-M to form a committee to take action against discrimination against students from minority and Dalit communities, apart from initiating departmental action against the professors who were allegedly named by Fathima Latheef.
MH Jawahirullah, founder of the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi demanded a CB-CID probe into the incident. Meanwhile, Chennai Police Commissioner AK Viswanath announced that the Central Crime Branch division would probe the death.
Read: IIT-M student death: Parents demand fair probe after suicide note names professors
Source: The News Minute