The death of an NIT Silchar student allegedly by suicide on Friday evening triggered a violent protest on the campus by students who held a senior faculty member responsible.

The third year engineering student from Ziro district of Arunachal Pradesh was found hanging in his ground floor hostel room around 5.15pm.

One of his hostel mates told The Telegraph the student was under stress because he was not allowed to register for fifth semester classes as he had not cleared his first semester exams, held online.

The student had been unable to attend online classes because of internet connectivity issues back home in Arunachal Pradesh, the hostel mate said. “He came to know the first semester exams were over only after physical classes started,” he alleged.

On Friday he approached the Dean (academic) with an application to hold special exams and allow him to attend third year classes (fifth semester).

“Not only was his plea not entertained, his application was also torn by the dean.... He was insulted several times, mentally harassed for past six months,” the student alleged.

The Dean, B.K. Roy, in a text message to this paper, denied the student had met him on the "fateful day" and "hence, no question of tearing his application."