New Delhi: Student union at Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Delhi wil hold a candle march on Thursday evening to protest alleged suicide of final year student on July 9.
The Students’ Federation of India, and the Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association of Jawaharlal Nehru University will the demonstration on varsity main gate to seek concrete measures to make campuses safe for marginalised students.
APPSC said that through the informal sources they found out that Ayush was a Tribal student.
Ayush Ashna who belonged to Uttar Pradesh’ Bareilly was staying in the Udaigiri Hostel on the campus. He was enrolled in the institute’s summer course.
APPSC objected a statement issued by the IIT regarding Ayush’s death. The statement termed the unfortunate incident an “untimely demise when it is mysterious.”
More information about Ayush's demise has been coming and @iitdelhi is trying to hide the information. It was due to the efforts of APPSC IIT Delhi that some information could be made public. #endcasteisminIIT pic.twitter.com/72VhaBFwvG
— APPSC IIT Bombay (@AppscIITb) July 12, 2023
Varsity tried to keep Ayush’s identity in dark
In a statement, APPSC said Ayush was from ST and there was made no mention of it in varsity’s condolence email, which according to the student’s union was an attempt to hide Ashna’s identity.
The organisation pointed out that the death has revealed “institutional casteism, bullying, and constant questioning of SC/ST students’ merits.”
In a statement, AAPSC mentioned that the Ayush was not found hanging but in a seating position, having a rope around his neck. They pointed out that it is not affirmed yet if it was a suicide.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said the investigation is on but they did not find anything suspicious about the death of Ayush Ashna, reported the Quint.
The student’s organisation condemned the death saying that the incident highlighted the ‘unwelcoming’ nature of the varsity towards those belonging to Scheduled Tribe and Caste.
However, in solidarity with Ayush’s death, the APPSC organised a candlelight march on Thursday.
