The students of IIT Kharagpur gathered at the Lala Lajpat Rai Hall of Residence to pay their respects to Faizan Ahmed, a third-year student from Assam who was found dead in his hostel room on October 14. Faizan, who was a student of mechanical engineering, stayed at the Lala Lajpat Rai hostel.
Students lit diyas in front of a picture of Faizan placed on a makeshift platform that had a poster with “MISS YOU FAIZAN” written on it.
Students of the BR Ambedkar Hall of Residence lit diyas in memory of Sudip Shaw, who committed suicide about one-and-a-half months ago.
Students at IIT Kharagpur told the institute’s director in an overnight open-house session last week that the campus had witnessed five suicides in the past three years but the authorities had done little to address mental health concerns of students.
“We are shocked at the death of Faizan. We cannot celebrate the festival of lights on a scale the campus is used to. Rather, we used the occasion to pay our homage to someone whom we are deeply missing,” said a student who attended the open house.
