Assam CM writes to WB counterpart for CBI probe into Assam students at IIT Kharagpur

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 18, 2024

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday urged his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee to involve CBI to unearth the truth shrouding the mysterious death of Faizan Ahmed, a student of IIT Kharagpur, who hailed from Hijuguri in Assam’s Tinsukia district.

Faizan Ahmed, who was an IIT Kharagpur third-year mechanical engineering student was found dead in his hostel room on October 14, 2022.

His parents on observing his body filed a case with the local police in Kharagpur requesting the superintending of police, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal and inspector-in-charge of Kharagpur (Town) Police Station for an investigation.

Though his death was claimed to be a case of suicide by the IIT authority, his bereaved parents observed injury marks on Faizan’s body. Moreover, given the direction of the Calcutta High Court, a second autopsy was carried out by exhuming late Faizan’s body. During the autopsy, a gunshot wound on the upper left side of the neck and a stab wound on the right side of Faizan’s neck was observed.

In a letter sent to the West Bengal chief minister on June 17, Sarma requested her to hand over the case to the CBI for a transparent and fair investigation of the crime.

Given the findings, Sarma requested his West Bengal counterpart to involve the CBI to find out the truth, bring the perpetrators of the crime to book and give the grief-stricken parents of the deceased justice.

On October 20, 2022, Sarma sent a letter to Mamata Banerjee requesting her intervention for a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of Faizan Ahmed, an IIT Kharagpur student from Hijuguri in Assam’s Tinsukia district.

Faizan Ahmed, 23, was found dead by the police, who had been called after a foul smell began coming from the closed room in the Lala Lajpat Rai Hall.

Even as the Kharagpur police claimed it to be a case of suicide, the parents suspected foul play. They demanded a CBI probe as the body was recovered by police after three days from the hostel room and in a semi-decomposed state with marks of injury on the head and other parts of the body.