A final note left behind by 20-year-old BITS Pilani student, Vaishnavi, to her parents before she took the drastic step of committing suicide earlier this week touched an emotional chord and reflected a sense of “tiredness”. That she was extremely apologetic towards the decision to end her life with the repeated usage of words “sorry, sorry, sorry” reveals that she took the dreadful step out of “mental fatigue”. The investigating team will have to dig deeper to find the source of the “tiredness” and connect the dots. The BITS management, which has kept a stoic silence, must explain whether it addressed her “state of mind” at any point.
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant informed that authorities have been asked to conduct a thorough investigation into the death of this third-year Electronics and Communication Engineering student at the campus. A detailed inquiry has been ordered, and strict action will be taken if needed, said the CM. The question is, what have earlier inquiries yielded, and what action has been taken? And what is the point of such investigations if cases are repeated — 6 deaths in 13 months?
We understand that BITS Pilani does not come directly under the jurisdiction of the State government, but when a crime occurs, the State has a significant role to play. Having said that, investigations have not helped address the issue at hand, bringing into focus the lack of transparency and sincerity.
For example, the death of the 5th student, Rishi Nair, suspected to have succumbed to a “drug overdose”, prompted the government to institute an inquiry. The medical reports detected a “cocktail” of drugs in the system of the deceased student. Up till now, there is no clarity about the report. Such hesitancy and delays in releasing findings do not bode well for course-corrective measures. It only helps those who live in denial of wrongdoing, mainly the institute, which fears its goodwill getting tarnished. The delay in concluding probes raises questions about whether institutional and governmental apathy continue to impede timely action.
This time, however, the South Goa Collector was prompt enough to address the situation by spelling out the safeguards put in place by the institute. What is not revealed is whether these mechanisms were ever tested by authorities. Does the Collector have details of how many students availed counselling on their own, and how many called in the helpline? Accepting the institute's version is the easiest way out. The job of the authorities is to understand the fault lines.
Another glaring discrepancy is the fact that the forensic expert who interacted with the families of the deceased students, Dr Madhu Ghodkirekar, has been sidelined from the inquiries despite his direct involvement in understanding the circumstances of these deaths. What was the idea behind keeping Dr Ghodkirekar out, when he had first-hand information about the cases at hand? When an investigation ignores expert opinions, the credibility of that probe is in question.
The pattern of delayed investigations and minimal transparency fosters a toxic environment where students’ lives are seemingly expendable. Do not institute probes to douse backlash from people and the political class. If at all a probe is announced, ensure that the findings are out in the public domain and that accountability is fixed. These inquiries have set nothing right. It is high time authorities stop paying lip service to student deaths and start prioritising prevention.
