Parents of Basar IIIT student seek inquiry; police detain protesters

NIRMAL: Parents and relatives of the Basar IIIT student, P Bhanu Prasad, who died of suspected suicide, has urged the state government to order an inquiry into the death and take action against the guilty. ABVP students staged a protest against the IIIT management over the death, the second on the campus in recent times.

The parents said their son actively participated in the student's agitation on campus and suspect this might have something to do with the death. The family staged a protest at the hospital where his body was kept, in Nirmal town, on Monday. Bhanu Prasad was found dead in his hostel room on Sunday night.

Bhanu Prasad was studying PUC 2. The family says he was a clever student and it was unlikely he  committed suicide  as he was mentally strong. They disagreed with the mention in what was purported to be the suicide note in circulation, that he was mentally depressed and not coping with the studies. The family alleged that the management has a role in the student’s death. 

The police detained ABVP and BJP activists staging a protest over the death of the student when they attempted to enter the government hospital where the body was kept after the postmortem. Later, the body was shifted to his native village Rangapur in Manchal mandal in Rangareddy district.

Police security had been tightened at the IIIT campus main gate in anticipation of student protests over the death. The police did not allow outsiders into the campus and the students were forced to remain inside their hostels and classrooms.  

IIIT authorities refuted the news spread on social media and in a section of the media that students were protesting over the death on the campus. They said said the campus was peaceful and students were attending their classes. Vice-Chancellor Venkata Ramana and director Prof Satish said the death was unfortunate.

This was the second incident of death of a student on the campus in the last four months. A first-year student, Suresh Rathod, had ended his life in his hostel room on August 23, 2022.  The deceased was a native of Dichpalli in Nizamabad district.