Protests Over Student’s Death At IIT Guwahati End After Dean Resigns

Students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have decided to halt their protests after a dean of the institute, Professor Kanduru V Krishna, resigned from his post on Wednesday. Demanding justice and accountability, thousands of students had staged a protest since Monday, boycotting classes over the alleged suicide by a student on Sunday.

The decision to halt their demonstrations was taken after a meeting between the Student Gymkhana Council and IIT Guwahati Director, Professor Devendra Jalihal, sources said. 

Mr Jalihal, who held a four-hour-long meeting with the Student Gymkhana Council on Wednesday, also assured the protesting students that four administration members would resign within a week. 

A third-year Computer Science student, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, was found dead in his hostel room on Monday. It was the fourth death of a student at IIT Guwahati this year with a woman an engineering student allegedly dying by suicide on August 9.

According to the protesting students, the incident occurred due to immense academic pressure and mental harassment imposed by the administration.

The students raised concerns about the mental well-being of the student body and the role of the administration in creating a stressful academic environment. 

The administration was urged to take immediate steps to address these issues and improve support for students struggling with mental health challenges.

Meanwhile, IIT-Guwahati asked journalists not to visit campus. 

“Members of the media are requested not to visit the campus now. The institute assures you that the situation is being treated with utmost urgency and the media will soon be invited to the campus for a meeting with the Director. We request members of the press to understand and co-operate with us in these difficult times and give us a few days to bring the situation back to normalcy and invite you to campus for a briefing” the institute informed journalist,” the institute said.