Chennai: IIT Madras students protest demanding suspension of PhD guide after suicide of scholar

Chennai: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has been rocked by protests over the recent death by suicide of PhD scholar Sachin Kumar Jain, with students demanding the dismissal of his research guide, Ashish Kumar Sen. 

The administration has responded by placing Ashish on leave for three weeks and restraining him from visiting his laboratory pending investigation.

However, students are still unsatisfied and are demanding that Ashish be suspended from all academic activities until an inquiry report is published on Sachin’s death.

Students demand an external member in the inquiry committee

They have also asked for an external member to be appointed to the inquiry committee, immunity for students and colleagues who share their testimonies in the inquiry, and a guarantee that Ashish will have no influence over the investigation.

Inhuman treatment with Sachin, alleges his brother

The demands come in the wake of a six-page letter written by Sachin’s brother Bhavesh Jain to the Director of IIT Madras, Prof V Kamakoti. In the letter, Bhavesh alleged that Sachin was reprimanded often by his PhD guide, who had overloaded him with work despite the fact that Sachin was under medication for mental health issues, which his guide knew. “Sachin decided to take his own life after the inhuman treatment meted out to him by his PhD guide,” he wrote in the letter.

The protests began on Tuesday with a sit-in on campus, followed by a night-long vigil on Wednesday. The students have been demanding the sharing of investigation reports on the suicides that have occurred at the institution and asking whether the authorities are “intentionally hiding these documents (enquiry reports) as if trying to back responsible people”.

'Fair Code of Academic Conduct'

They have also called for a “Fair Code of Academic Conduct” to be established to protect the academic and non-academic interests, including mental health, of the approximately 30,000 PhD scholars enrolled across all IITs.

In response, the Director of IIT Madras, Prof V Kamakoti, has issued an email to students stating that Professor Ashish Sen is restrained from visiting the lab until the investigation is complete. He advised students to contact their Heads of Department for any emergencies. The Director also assured the students that the inquiry reports on the two previous suicides will be published by April 18.