After rounds of protest against BK Roy, Dean of Academics at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Silchar, the authorities announced that a new dean has been appointed in place of Roy after he has been allegedly accused by the students of abetting a student's suicide, according to an IANS report.
After students at NIT Silchar in Assam called off their five-day-long hunger strike, Brinda Bhowmik, Professor of Electronics and Communication in the Engineering Department, was appointed as the new Dean. This was announced within hours of them calling off the strike. As per the information, Brinda Bhowmik has taken charge as the new Dean Academics from today, September 25.
Director's assurance
Earlier on Friday night, September 22, following the assurance from the director of the institute, Dilip Kumar Baidya, the 2,000-odd students of NIT Silchar ended their protest.
"We sympathise with the family of the deceased student, and we understand your agitation. We apologise for not being able to get in touch with you sooner. Within the following two days, we are prepared to meet the demands," the director had earlier told the students.
One of the protesting students said that the authorities had given them the assurance that their demands would be fulfilled, which were the removal of Prof Roy from his position and there would be no action against the students who launched a protest following the death of Koj Buker.
Why did the protests rage?
The hunger strike began on the morning of September 18, following an alleged death of a third-year Electrical Engineering student. According to the authorities, Buker's hanging body was discovered in the institute's hostel-7 on September 15. The Dean of Academics, BK Roy, was accused by the students of abetting the suicide.
