Indefinite strike in IIT-M as student ends life in campus

Two students from IIT Madras continued to sit on fast for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, demanding justice for Fathima Latheef, the first-year student who was found dead in Sarayu hostel room on the campus on November 9. Azhar Moideen and Justin Joseph have launched the strike calling for an end to student suicides on campus.

Chennai:Two students of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) continued to sit on fast for the second day on Tuesday demanding an internal inquiry against the faculty members of the Humanities and Social Sciences Department for the suicide of first-year student Fathima Latheef.

The 19-year-old Latheef, a first-year student of M.A. Humanities and Development Studies, had committed suicide on November 9 by hanging herself from the ceiling fan in her hostel room, allegedly for religious bias.

The two students -- Azhar Moideen and Justin Joseph -- held placards demanding a probe into the death of Fathima and began their fast and also submitted a representation to the Director protesting the inaction of the administration regarding the structural issues that have led to suicides on campus.

The fasting students also demanded the formation of a committee of experts to look into the mental well being of the students and the efficacy of the present systems in managing the issues faced by the students.

Meanwhile, Chennai police investigated her father Abdul Latheef regarding the issue and have summoned three IIT professors for the probe.

The three IIT professors- Sudarshan Padbanaban, Hemchandra Kara and Milind Bhrame were summoned to the crime branch office on Monday.