New revelations in IIT Kharagpur student's death; mother still hopes for justice after 2 years

NEW DELHI: The mother of IIT Kharagpur student Faizan Ahmed, whose decomposed body was found in the hostel around two years ago, said on June 15 that she is hopeful of getting justice after a court-appointed forensic expert stated that the youth from Assam 'might have been hit by an object and shot at'.

Rehana Ahmed, Faizan's mother, expressed her concerns about how someone could carry a firearm inside a high-security zone like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. She asserted that her son’s death was the result of a 'conspiracy'.

"We have all along been saying that my son was murdered in cold blood. Tell me, how can a student carry guns or knives on campus in a high-security zone like IIT Kharagpur? There had been attempts to hush up the issue from the very beginning," she said.

Rehana's hope for justice

Expressing hope for justice, Rehana Ahmed mentioned writing to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, demanding a probe into her son's death and punishment for the perpetrators. However, she received no response from them. “If the truth comes out, it will also be a trendsetter,” Rehana Ahmed said. She also questioned the mysterious deaths of students in higher educational institutions across the country.

A senior official of IIT Kharagpur rejected the allegation of hushing up Faizan’s death, stating that the authorities have extended all assistance to the investigation. “Every student is like our child. We also want the truth to be unraveled. The guilty should be punished. Let the court pronounce its verdict. There should not be any media trial," the official said.

Forensic findings in student's death

Forensic expert AK Gupta, who submitted his findings to the Calcutta High Court, mentioned a sign of a wound under the ear near the jaw of the deceased student, indicating the use of a weapon, possibly leading to him being hit and shot at. The high court, which had ordered exhumation and the second post-mortem of the body of the IIT student, said it was surprised that the first autopsy missed the injury marks on the back of his head.

The student’s body was found in his hostel room on October 14, 2022. The matter is likely to be taken up for hearing before the court next week, petitioner Salim Ahmed's lawyer, Aniruddha Mitra, said.