"Should Have Known": Court Pulls UP IIT Kharagpur Director Over Student's Death
NDTV
The court had on December 1 last year reprimanded him for not acting on a ragging complaint, which was followed by the death of the student.
The Calcutta High Court today pulled up the Director of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, the premiere engineering college that made headlines for the death of a student in campus, saying he should have been aware that children with superior abilities come to the institute from different social or economic backgrounds, and may not be able to freely mix with students from other backgrounds. It also observed that counselling sessions at the college were at "lowest levels". The court had on December 1 last year reprimanded him for not acting on a ragging complaint, which was followed by the death of the student.
"We can't see any soft peddling in this matter. It is a humble request from this court. Please don't take any sides," it said today.
A detailed report was presented in court today addressing the lacunae, replacing the earlier casual report filed by the Director. The court had earlier slammed the college's vague report on action taken following a ragging complaint of 23-year-old Faizan Ahmed from Tinsukia in Assam in February, months before his decomposing body was discovered in a hostel.
A high-powered committee is to be set up if its guidelines are in harmony with the order of the Supreme Court on ragging, the court said.