IIT-Bombay Student Suicide: Family Flags Missing Exam Page, Disputed Apology Letter
Parents of an Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-Bombay) student who died by suicide have raised concerns over discrepancies in key case documents, meeting Maharashtra Director General of Police Sadanand Date in Mumbai on Monday.
The student died by suicide after he was allegedly caught copying during an examination. The parents alleged that the handwriting on an apology letter attributed to their son does not match his actual handwriting, and that a page was missing from his mid-semester exam answer sheet.
The family noticed the issues after recently being granted access to documents seized by the police during the investigation. According to a formal letter submitted to the DGP, page number three of the examination answer booklet was missing. The parents noted that while the answer sheet featured printed questions with space provided for students to write answers, the page containing question number three was unavailable.
The parents also sought access to the original copy of the apology letter to scrutinise the handwriting. DGP Sadanand Date stated that the case remains under investigation and confirmed that the details and application presented by the family and their delegation are being conveyed to the Mumbai police commissioner for necessary action.
Siddharth Ingale, the lawyer representing the parents, said the alleged discrepancies have been formally brought to the notice of investigating authorities. Ingale noted that police officials stated they are waiting for the forensic report to proceed.
In addition to approaching state police authorities, the parents sent an email to the IIT-Bombay Board of Governors requesting a copy of an interim report prepared by a committee appointed by the institute to investigate the student's death. The student's father stated that the family does not have faith in the report because the committee did not contact them to seek their views.
