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A 21-year-old BDS student at Sharda University died by suicide, alleging harassment by faculty. Her note accused teachers of mental harassment.
A student at the Sharda University in Greater Noida died by suicide. | Image: CNN-News18
The death of a 21-year-old student at Sharda University in Greater Noida has left the campus, her family and batchmates in shock. The second year student of Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) at the university died by suicide on Monday, allegedly due to harassment by faculty members.
The body of the student was found in the hostel room of the university, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Knowledge Park Police Station. The deceased student accused her teachers of harassment and humiliation in a suicide note.
In her suicide note, the student held the teachers of PCP and Dental Materials responsible for her death, alleging that they mentally harassed and humiliated her, causing stress. She called for them to be held accountable and face consequences in case of her death.
Meanwhile, her batchmates and friends echoed the concerns she pointed out in her note saying personal insults are common in the campus.
Personal Insults Common In Campus
Some friends of the deceased student narrated the ordeal to Times of India saying that the department of dental sciences had a “culture of toxicity”, primarily perpetrated by the two faculty members, who the victim mentioned in her final note.
One of her batchmates shared her horrific experience and said that the two professors were in the habit of making demeaning comments for the smallest of mistakes.
“One day, I made a few minor errors in my project, and the professor said to me, ‘Tumse nahi ho payega, tum ghar ja ke roti banao (This is not for you. Go home and make chapatis)’. It was humiliating,” she said, adding one of the professors, while scolding another student, had fumed, “Chappal se marungi (will beat you up with a sandal)”.
Another student told the news outlet that the constant fear of getting humiliated leads to many of them often skipping their visits home, lest something holds them up and attendance is affected even by a day.
“Making personal comments and humiliation has been a culture in the dental wing for a while,” she said.
Batchmates Share Victim’s Ordeal
Some students also detailed the victim’s final interaction with a professor. They said a professor accused her of forging signatures, and two professors also taunted her for complaining to her parents about the faculty.
According to Indian Express report, her humiliation began last week when she went to Mahinder Singh Chauhan, a faculty member, to get her practical file signed.
Her friend told the news outlet that when the student’s turn came to get the file signed, the professor “looked at the signature on her last practical work, and then claimed, ‘These are not my signature… you have forged it’”.
“She left in tears”, the 21-year-old student’s batchmate recalled, saying the student was asked to leave immediately when she denied forging any signatures.
Following the incident, tensions escalated on campus as students staged protests, demanding accountability from the college authorities. A heated exchange also broke out between police personnel and protesting students.
Seven people, including six university staff, have been booked in the case, and two faculty members named in the suicide note have been arrested.
What’s In The FIR?
The student had complained to her father about being repeatedly humiliated in class by faculty members and threatened with academic consequences, according to the FIR seen by the Hindustan Times.
The family told police that the student’s father visited the university on July 14 after her daughter’s complaint, and personally met the Dean, HOD and other faculty members, who assured him that she would not be harassed further.
“My daughter was under immense mental pressure because of how she was treated by certain faculty members. Despite my meeting with the university officials just days before, no action was taken. They gave verbal assurances but continued to harass her,” the victim’s father said.
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben…Read More
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben… Read More
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Greater Noida, India, India
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