Father of student who committed suicide seeks justice

The father of the IIT student, who committed suicide on Friday, pinned the blame on a professor with the Humanities Department for his daughter’s death even as he alleged that none from the institute got in touch with him even after the “unfortunate” incident.

Abdul Latheef, the father of Fathima Latheef the first year MA integrated course student who committed suicide on November 8, also sought to know how his daughter got hold of a rope that she allegedly used to hang herself.

He alleged that his request for accessing CCTV footage has not yet been heeded.

Latheef met Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Director General of Police J K Tripathy on Friday to “seek justice” for his daughter’s death.

The father said that he has also submitted “further proof” to prove that his daughter’s death wasn’t a suicide to the DGP, who has assured of a detailed probe.

“My daughter has blamed Sudarshan Padmanabhan who is a professor with the Humanities department for her death. This professor has harassed my daughter and she was always scared of him. There is enough proof to say that my daughter feared the professor,” Latheef told reporters here.

The institute also broke its silence by condoling the “unfortunate and untimely” death of its student and that the administration was extending full cooperation to the authorities.

“However, the social media trolling of the Institute, faculty members and students and trial by the media, even before the conclusion of the police investigation, is gravely demoralizing the students, faculty members and staff as well as their families, and tarnishing the reputation of one of the finest institutes in the country. Our faculty is known for its high quality, integrity and fairness,” it said in a statement.

Latheef also alleged that the IIT administration didn’t get in touch with him or his family after his daughter’s death.

“She was a student of high calibre. Fathima was number one in everything and she was being subjected to some kind of harassment. Where did she get the rope and why isn’t the institute made available the CCTV footages yet,” he asked.

His meeting comes a day after the Chennai Police transferred the case to the Central Crime Branch (CCB).

Fatima Lahteef, a first-year student of the MA integrated programme in the Humanities department, was found dead in her hostel room last week.

Though no suicide note was recovered from her room, the young girl’s parents have alleged harassment by some professors in the department as the cause for their daughter’s suicide.