The authorities of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, IIT-G are embroiled under controversy including its Director TG Sitharam after the students started to voice their opinions on the ongoing ‘practice of corruption’ inside the campus premises.
A candlelight march on November 19th, 2019 was staged by hundreds of IIT-G students standing in solidarity for the Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Brijesh Kumar Rai, for his suspension from the college over allegations of ‘misconduct’.
Supporting the professor, the students came out in large numbers against the administration for ‘targeting’ Rai and demanding immediate withdrawal of his suspension. The protesters also claimed that their professor was victimized for raising a voice against the on-going corruption inside the institute.
Slogans like ‘we want justice’, ‘now is the time to raise our voice’ rent the air. The protesters threatened to intensify their protest if the administration does not withdraw the suspension order.
As per reports, the Board of Governors of IIT-G in November had forwarded a ‘memo’ to Rai, holding him responsible for ‘misconduct’ and that he will be imposed a penalty of dismissal from his service. The ‘memo’ came after Rai had reportedly dashed off an email to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) alleging corruption in appointments by IIT-G during their joint project two years back.
Meanwhile, the IIT-G administration has reportedly demanded the names of the students who took part in the protest rally.
Inputs & Photo Credit: Nitupom Medhi
