In death, PESIT student gives life lessons

Tension continued to prevail  at PES Institute of Technology (PESIT), in the wake of suicide by Pranay Kumar AY, a student at the college, as family members and students protested against the management of the institute.

Pranay’s cousins, Aisha and Anushka, who had earlier interrupted the press conference held by the management and hundreds of students, barricaded the college entrance and demanded the management to own up for Pranay’s reputation and address problems faced by students due to alleged academic pressure. While a window pane was broken during the protest, it was an isolated incident and the protest did not turn violent.

Anushka, a student, claimed that the institute failed to handle the aftermath of Pranay’s suicide. “His body was seen at 7.30am but it was only moved by 11.15am. Instead of using a stretcher, they dragged his body across the stairs,” she stated.

She added that despite Pranay not having signed his hostel attendance sheet the previous day, nobody checked on him until the family alerted his friends. She also blamed the pressure exerted by the institute on its students.

“There are too many tests. We used to get calls from Pranay as he complained about the pressure and the partiality shown by the college towards certain students,” she alleged.

In protest, students did not allow anybody to leave or enter the campus, barring the media, and demanded that the media stay on campus.

“We want to clear his name. It has been reported that he was a poor student and that he possessed drugs. None of that is true,” an emphatic Anushka told Prof D Jawahar, CEO of PES Group of Institutions.

The students, who shouted slogans, also wanted to highlight the pressure placed on them.

“We have too many tests and quizzes. Even our professors can’t finish the curriculum and we have to stay after college hours to take extra classes,” said a student.

The students also reacted at the presence of the police. “We are students not terrorists,” said one student.   In the face of growing agitation, Jawahar claimed responsibility of the college for having failed to handle the situation.

“There is collective responsibility in what has happened. We failed. This is the first time such a thing has happened in the college and we did not know the correct protocol,” he said, but denied the role played by the institute in the suicide itself. He also said that the institute will refund the fee paid by Pranay’s family to the institute.

“We will also be placing an advertisement in leading newspaper in Patna stating that Pranay was an above-average student who did not consume drugs nor move into a single room recently but that he was always in an independent room,” he said.

He stated the warden, who did not check on Pranay when he failed to sign his attendance sheet, has been suspended.
As for the protests that took place on Tuesday, when the campus was vandalised, he said the college would cooperate with the police to find the culprits, who he insisted were students.

He also vowed to stay inside the auditorium until members of the media came to the campus, so he could publicly redact information about Pranay that has been been reported in the media.

In addition, the college also announced a string of new policies that would be put in place in to prevent another such event.
“We will appoint a full-time professional student counsellor and will ensure that a medical practitioner is available to students at least for three hours a day. We will also re-submit to the VTU to drop the minimum marks criteria for autonomous colleges,” he said.

He also announced that a recreation centre would be named in Pranay’s memory. As for Pranay’s immediate family, all they want is his name cleared and the rules reformed.

“His mother and father are not even able to talk right now. We want the media to hear the truth and the tests to be eliminated,” said Anushka before pleading with students to attend classes conducted by the college.