Opposition seeks judicial probe into multiple deaths
PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday preferred to remain tight-lipped on the autopsy report that confirmed traces of drugs in the system of the 20-year-old student who died in his hostel room at the BITS Pilani campus.
“Police investigation is on,” Sawant told media persons in response to repeated queries related to the student’s death.
Rishi Nair from Bengaluru was found dead in his hostel room last week. This was the fifth student death at the campus since December 2024.
As reported by ‘The Goan’, the medical examination into the death of the second-year BITS Pilani student suggested that a combination of sedatives, stimulants and recreational drugs may have triggered vomiting, followed by aspiration — a fatal condition in which vomit enters the lungs during sleep.
Meanwhile, the opposition has demanded a judicial inquiry into all five deaths reported at BITS, apart from registering a complaint against the BITS management.
Congress President Amit Patkar demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter and accountability from the institute’s management. “The presence of drugs in toxicology reports points to criminal negligence. The BITS Pilani administration, law enforcement authorities, and the BJP Government in Goa cannot escape responsibility. While parents send their children to Goa with the hope of a bright future, the government’s failure has made the State a haven for drugs and cartels,” he said.
“How did narcotics find their way into one of the country’s premier educational campuses? What monitoring mechanisms were in place? Why were repeated deaths ignored until young lives were cut short? These questions demand immediate answers,” Patkar added.
The Congress party has threatened to launch a State-wide agitation if the government and management fail to act within 15 days. “We will expose the dangerous nexus of drugs, negligence, and political protection that is destroying Goa’s future,” Patkar said.
Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao too demanded that, with the drugs link to the case, police should investigate thoroughly. He said that the management of the institute should also be held accountable if they have failed to implement measures to prevent such incidents.
“We have been warning that drugs have infiltrated educational institutions, but the government is often preoccupied with narrating stories of crime detection. There is a supply of drugs in the vicinity of this institute, but police have failed to stop this menace,” Alemao said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) questioned how the drugs reached the campus of such a premier educational institution. “How did drugs enter the college campus? How did they reach students? This is a failure of Goa Police, the government and BITS management,” AAP President Amit Palekar said.
