In a heart-wrenching incident, a student hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, enrolled in the third semester of the electrical engineering program at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Silchar, allegedly took his own life in the college hostel on Friday night. The grim event transpired after the student faced academic setbacks, failing exams and struggling to clear his backlog.

Following the devastating news, a wave of unrest gripped the campus. Fellow students gathered and besieged the Registrar’s official residence late on Friday night, igniting protests that escalated into a physical altercation with the police. Reports indicate that law enforcement authorities resorted to using force to disperse the agitated students.

The protesting students contend that the deceased had sought permission from the college administration to enroll in the upcoming semester, but their request was denied. However, NIT Silchar authorities assert that the student had been grappling with academic issues since his first year, a circumstance that may have contributed to his untimely demise.

Expressing their anger and sorrow, one protesting student lamented, “Our student, our senior, committed suicide, and we were peacefully protesting, but the NIT Silchar administration didn’t even bother to stop by and speak to us. They lathi-charged us and unleashed the police on us.”

In light of the volatile situation on campus, an emergency meeting was convened involving Cachar district officials, the police, and NIT Silchar administration to address the ongoing crisis. It has been reported that the institute might remain closed until normalcy is restored.

Dilip Kumar Baidya, the director of NIT Silchar, expressed his condolences, saying, “The purported suicide occurred in the evening, and we are all quite saddened by it. We reacted without delay. However, with this student, I am told there were issues right from the start of the first year; there were some backlogs, and because of these backlogs, he could not move with his batch and that may have created depression.” Baidya acknowledged that there are grievances among the students, which are being examined on a case-by-case basis.

Meanwhile, according to the police, the Dean’s official residence was unlawfully entered, and vehicles were vandalized during the protests.

“The students became violent, as they were really upset, and even as we were negotiating with them, they began hurling water bottles at us. If the situation does not improve, the district administration will take some steps,” remarked Rohan Kumar Jha, deputy commissioner of Cachar.

The police have since retrieved the student’s body and sent it for a post-mortem examination after registering a case of unnatural death. This tragic incident has cast a pall of sorrow over NIT Silchar, prompting soul-searching and calls for reforms to address the concerns of the student community.