The recent suicide of a twenty year-old-student of Indian Institute of Information and Technology (IIIT), Nagpur, has raised questions about college negligence and the way college administration has responded. Fed up due to the negligence by the administration, students of IIIT hostel demonstrated and staged a protest against the administration on Monday late night. Students raised various question such as lack of basic medical amenities, lack of mental health rooms for counselling, lack of ambulance facility etc.

 

The deceased student Shreyas Mane, who was suffering from depression due to academic pressure and backlogs, commited suicide by jumping from the ninth floor of hostel building and students came to know about the incident at 4.30 am, after which they informed the warden and college administration at around 4.40 am. Following that, the college administration did not even call police and ambulance and left the body as it is. It was the students who called police at 5.00 am. According to sources, the college lacks basic medical facility and ambulance services. “As per UGC mandates on safety of students on and off campus, there should be on campus medical facilities made available for students and there should be at least one ambulance ready for emergency situation.”

 

However, the institute has neither of it. According to students, the college administration did not give any medical assistance nor they did they check whether he was alive or dead. When students asked to call ambulance, the college admisntration replied that police has asked not to touch body. Following the incident and protest, the scheduled semister examination in the institute has been re-scheduled.