M Ashwin Nambiar, a 21-year-old student of Azim Premji University (APU), Bengaluru, died by suicide on campus earlier this month. 

To recall, the friends and brother of the deceased student, Ashish Nambiar, shared that he was suffering mentally and academically prior to this death. However, they also added that accusations of possessing and smoking cigarettes in the hostel by the institute’s disciplinary committee could have been the tipping point for Ashwin, leading him to take the extreme step.

When EdexLive reached out to the institute regarding the university's substance abuse and disciplinary action policies, a spokesperson from the university said, “Azim Premji University has a detailed campus code of conduct that lays out the rules and regulations to be followed by the students of the university. This document details the dos and don’ts, specifies major and minor violations, disciplinary procedures including action that repeat violations could invite and the appeal process.”

The university added that each student is made to sign this ‘document’ at the beginning of each semester. Apart from this, a detailed orientation is provided to all the students at the time of their joining the university in order to make them familiar with the university's code of conduct.

When asked about the proceeding of the disciplinary committee meeting that took place with Ashwin Nambiar prior to his death, the university replied, “In the interest of privacy, the university does not discuss internal matters pertaining to individuals in public.”

However, the APU spokesperson assured that the university has been engaging with the students on their suggestions.