Chennai Police questions 3 professors in Fathima Lateef suicide case, hunger strike called off
Chennai City Crime Branch has questioned three professors at the IIT-Madras over the suicide of student Fathima Lateef and has reportedly sent summons to appear before them on Tuesday.
UPDATED: November 19, 2019 15:56 IST
In a note, Fathima identified a professor at IIT Madras as "the cause of my death."
Chennai Police has questioned three professors in connection with the suicide of Fathima Lateef, a woman student at the IIT-Madras. The two students who began a hunger strike on Monday over the suicide have called off their strike.
The students have called off their hunger strike on Tuesday after the institute agreed to look into their demands.
In an email to Chinta Bar, an independent student body, the dean of students has accepted to constitute an external panel to examine the mental wellbeing of students within the next four months besides constituting a grievance redressal cell for each department at IIT-Madras.
ChintaBAR@ChintaBAR
· Nov 19, 2019
Replying to @ChintaBAR @iitmadras
ChintaBAR welcomes these moves and hopes to work with the IIT Madras administration and the entire student community so that all the demands are addressed at the earliest.
ChintaBAR@ChintaBAR
We are calling off the hunger strike, with the hope that there will be no more deaths in IIT Madras. We thank the student community and the media for supporting us in this endeavour.
Long Live Students Unity!
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6:06 PM - Nov 19, 2019
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On Monday morning, Azhar Moideen and Justin Joseph, students of the humanities department began their protest near the main entrance of the institute. The students demanded the institute sets up a panel of external experts comprising psychologists, mental health experts, educationalists and faculty of IIT-M to examine the mental wellbeing of the students and an internal inquiry to probe the allegations raised by parents of Fathima.
In a series of tweets, Chinta Bar said they welcome the move by IIT Madras administration. Further, the institute has informed the student's body that the possibility of an internal inquiry into the conduct of the faculty as demanded by Fathima's parents can be discussed with the director when he returns on Thursday.
ChintaBAR@ChintaBAR
On Day 2 of the hunger strike, the Student Legislative Council and the General Student Body have received assurances from the @iitmadras administration regarding 2 of the 3 demands we had raised with the director.
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6:03 PM - Nov 19, 2019
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Meanwhile, the Chennai City Crime Branch is said to have questioned three professors at the IIT-Madras campus and has reportedly sent summons to appear before them on Tuesday. A special team of officers will also leave for Kerala to talk to Fathima's family and classmates who hail from the neighboring state.
Fathima Lateef had allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in her hostel room. She was found dead in her room on November 9. Fathima Lateef was a native of Kerala and was pursuing an integrated MA program at the institute.
ALSO READ | Religious bias led to IIT-M student Fathima Lateef's death: MMK leader
WATCH | IIT-Madras: Students protest demanding fair probe in suicide of Fathima Lateef
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