Sep 06, 2014 | Age Correspondent | Mumbai
Students on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) are shocked at the death of fourth-year student Aniket Ambhore, who according to the police and eye witness statements slipped and died after falling from the sixth floor of a hostel on the campus on Thursday. On Friday, while the campus was abuzz with rumours that Ambhore might have committed suicide as his grades had been falling and he was in depression, the institute maintains that it was an accident and are awaiting the police investigation report.
According to some students, though Ambhore fell and died at around 5.45 pm, news of the same started spreading on the campus only after the police came to the spot at around 6.30 pm. “As the area was cordoned off, there was some confusion as to who the student was and the name became clear only after some students who saw him fall identified him. They were the ones who alerted the campus security who alerted the police,” said a student, requesting anonymity.
“He was a vocalist and guitarist and was active on Facebook. He had posted a positive note on Facebook on how changing art forms around us could change the way people eat, thus leading to a cure for cancer and cough,” said another student. He added that apparently Ambhore did not have suicidal tendencies as he did not leave any note behind, thus negating the speculation about him committing suicide.
The institute confirmed that as it was raining heavily on Thursday and the floor on the sixth floor balcony was wet, Ambhore might have slipped while talking on the phone. “The eyewitness account taken down by the police confirms that Ambhore was talking on the phone and not preparing to jump, thus ruling out the suicide angle. However, we do not want to influence the police investigation in any way and will await their report,” said Rashmi Sablani, PRO of IIT-B.
Meanwhile, the Teachers’ Day celebration on the campus were also muted and Prof. Devang Khakkar, Director, IIT-B read out a condolence message during the programme. He only announced the names of the teachers who would be felicitated. The felicitation would take place on some other day.
