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Central Crime Branch to probe IIT-Madras student suicide

The protestors ended their protest after talks with the Assistant Commissioner Sudharshan.

Chennai: The investigation into the suicide of IIT-M student Fathima Latheef has been transferred to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) and a special team has been formed to probe the matter, the City Police Commissioner A.K. Vishwanathan said on Thursday. Speaking to reporters after conducting an inquiry inside the campus on Thursday afternoon, the Commissioner said that the case will be investigated by a team of Central Crime Branch.

The team will be led by former CBI DIG and the present Joint Commissioner of CCB, C. Eswaramoorthy and will have another former Assistant Commissioner of CBI Prabakaran in it. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police for Crimes against women and children S Megalina will be the investigating officer in the case.

“Considering the sensitivity of the issue we have decided that it is necessary to have senior officials investigating the case”, the Commissioner said, To a question on the demand for a CBI probe, he said the special team head Easwaramoorthy has had a stint in the CBI and successfully cracked several tough cases in TN as well through skilful investigation. The team comprises officers including an assistant commissioner Prabhakaran who also had served in the CBI, the commissioner said.

On Thursday morning, Student Federation of India (SFI), student wing of the CPI(M), conducted a protest outside the gates of IIT Madras, demanding a fair probe in the case. Raising slogans calling for the arrest of the professors named in Fathima’s suicide note, the protesters by led by Mariappan, SFI State General Secretary, also demanded that a special wing be formed by the Government to monitor institutional crime. The protestors ended their protest after talks with the Assistant Commissioner Sudharshan.

Speaking to the media, D.Chandru, South Chennai District Secretary of SFI alleged that the suicide of Fathima is not the first one, but the fifth suicide inside the IIT campus since December 2018. The IIT-M management has not conducted any investigation so far, despite the student leaving a suicide note in her phone accusing an Assistant Professor, he said. They also demanded that the IIT Madras management should set up complaints and grievance addressing committees in each department.

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