Calcutta High Court has in a order told the IIT Kharagpur authorities to “exercise some patience” and allow the special investigation team (SIT) probing the death of a student on the campus last year “to delve into the matter a little further”.
Justice Jay Sengupta, who heard the case on Wednesday, said in his order: “It appears that the investigating agency has acceded to the request of the IIT authorities to interrogate the students after a particular date. In these circumstances, the IIT authorities should also exercise some patience to allow the investigating agency to delve into the matter a little further so that the final hearing of the case can take place effectively.”
“Ideally, it should not be an adversarial litigation for the IIT authorities. After all, one of their students had died,” the judge said.
The special team is probing the death of third-year student Faizan Ahmed, whose body was found in a hostel room in October 2022. It is still not clear how he died.
His mother, Rehana Ahmed, has accused IIT Kharagpur of being insensitive.
“When the second post-mortem report said Fazian’s death could be a case of homicide, the IIT challenged the findings before a division bench of the high court. Till today, their lawyer is busy challenging the maintainability of the petition we filed seeking to know how Faizan died. If they have not done anything wrong, why are they so against one of their students?” Rehana said on Thursday.
Appearing for the IIT, advocate Anindya Mitra told the court on Wednesday that
they had challenged the maintainability of the case before a division bench of the same court.
On behalf of the SIT, an officer submitted a report on Wednesday.
Justice Sengupta’s order says: “The report does not find a clear reflection of the investigation done. This is apparent from the perusal of the case diary. Let a proper report be filed by the investigating agency on the next date indicating in detail the steps they had taken after taking over the investigation as a Special Investigating Team on 13.9.2023. Let them indicate what steps they have been taken on and from 13.9.2023 to 18.11.2023.”
A member of the SIT said: “Although the second post-mortem suggested that the death could be a case of homicide, we have to establish how it happened. That is
why we are going to speak to the students and Faizan’s mother.”
On January 21, Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, who was hearing the case before it was transferred to the court of Justice Sengupta, had accused the IIT authorities of “trying to cover up” Faizan’s death.
Mitra had then told the court that his client (IIT) had taken all steps to provide natural justice to the parents of the deceased.
On Thursday, Rehana said: “The institute doesn’t seem to be interested in tracing the offenders. Which is why the court on Wednesday reminded the institute that Faizan was one of their students.”
Calls, a text message and an email from this newspaper to the IIT director, V.K. Tewari, failed to elicit any response.
The SIT submitted in the high court on Wednesday that the institute had informed them that the students whom the sleuths had identified for interrogation could be questioned after November 25.
Rehana said a member of the SIT called her on Thursday afternoon, asking her to come to Kolkata so they could speak to her.
Justice Mantha had on June 15 constituted the SIT, dissatisfied with the police probe. The SIT was reconstituted on September 13, after the state government challenged its composition.