Fathima suicide: Father to approach Madras HC for internal inquiry into IIT Madras by independent agency

Abdul Latheef, father of Fathima Latheef, the IIT-Madras student who committed suicide, will go in appeal before the Madras High Court demanding an internal inquiry in the institute by an independent agency to bring out the sequence of events that led to his daughter’s extreme step. Fathima’s laptop and tab, which are with the family and which, according to him, have all details regarding his daughter’s death, will be soon be submitted for the forensic examination.

“Though I believe that the police investigation is on the right track, no proper action is being taken by the IIT authorities to bring out the truth. I will demand an internal inquiry into the case,” Latheef told reporters here on Tuesday.

The family will leave for Chennai as soon as they receive the summons to produce the digital evidence before the investigation team, he added.

Fathima’s twin sister Ayisha Latheef will also accompany her father to Chennai.  Earlier, the family had demanded that the investigation team must open Fathima’s mobile phone only in the presence of her family members.

The family will also meet Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and DMK leader M K Stalin seeking their further intervention for unravelling the mystery behind Fathima’s death.

The smartphone recovered by the police contained a suicide note in which her professors were cited as the cause of her death. Her family members also alleged that she had faced communal discrimination from some teachers and students on the campus.

The body of Fathima, a first-year postgraduate student of IIT-Madras, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her hostel room on November 9.

While no suicide note was found in her room, a note on her mobile phone had mentioned the names of some faculty members.

Fathima’s parents have alleged that the discrimination faced by her from these faculty members because of her community background led her to end her life.

Fathima, an integrated MSc student with the Humanities and Science Department and a resident of Priyadarshini Nagar at Randamkutty in Kilikolloor, Kollam, was a bright student who secured first rank in the all-India IIT entrance examinations and was also a topper in her class.

Besides her father and twin sister, Fathima is also survived by mother Sajitha and younger sister Mariyam Latheef.