NIT Silchar appoints new dean of academics after protests following campus suicide

SILCHAR: Professor Brinda Bhowmik was appointed the dean of academics at National Institute of Technology (NIT) Silchar replacing BK Roy after a week-long protest on the campus over a student's suicide, officials said on Sunday.

Bhowmik, a professor in the department of electronics and communication engineering, has been appointed as the dean (academics) with effect from September 25, according to a notification. Her tenure will be provisionally for a period of two years from the date of taking over charge or till further order, it said.

Protests broke out on the campus after a third-year student from Arunachal Pradesh was found dead on September 15 in his hostel room. The students have been alleging that Roy had insulted the victim who got six backlogs in his first-semester examination, which was held in 2021. Due to the lockdown, he was at home and failed to attend the online classes due to lack of internet connectivity, resulting in the backlog, they claimed.

He had appealed to the authorities to conduct a special examination so that he could clear the backlogs but Roy allegedly insulted him. Following this incident, he locked himself in his room and later his body was found hanging, they said. Among their demands was the resignation of Roy, whom they blamed for the suicide, and that no disciplinary action should be taken against the students for the protest. The students went on a hunger strike with the demands, and withdrew from it on Friday after assurances from the college authority.

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