Today,
November 24, officials from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) visited
the National Institute of Technology, Durgapur (NITD). This was in connection
with the death of Prosenjit Sarkar, a fourth year student of Electrical
Engineering who passed away on campus last week. The officials met with student
representatives as well as the administration in a meeting today
morning.
Prosenjit
Sarkar died on November 18 after initial treatment at the Medical Unit (MU)
situated on campus. His death caused a furore among the students living at NITD.
The subsequent protests created a wave of sympathy on social media asking for
accountability from the administration. The MHRD responded by sending its
officials to enquire into the incident.
After the
meeting, all participants agreed on the following points:
– The
MHRD officials noticed that the mandatory number of vehicles to tackle
emergencies, to be maintained within the campus, were unavailable. The only
ambulance that is currently available is also kept off campus.
– A
commission of doctors will be formed on direction of the MHRD officials to look
specifically into the allegation of medical negligence.
– The
NITD Director, Dr. Tarkeshwar Kumar, will not leave the campus until further
notice.
– In
order to investigate further, students were asked to submit their prescriptions
to the MHRD officials, if they felt that they were prescribed wrong medicines
by the MU.
A second meeting is being held with the
students who accompanied Prosenjit to the MU as of writing this article. The
officials will also visit the MU tomorrow, November 25, to get a clearer picture
of circumstances that led to the incident. Meanwhile, the administration has
requested the students to contribute financially towards compensation which
will be given to the members of Prosenjit’s family.
PaGalGuY has been consistently following this incident and the aftermath from the beginning. You can read our past articles below:
Nov. 19: NIT Durgapur student dies on campus, students protest against ‘apathy’ by authorities
Nov. 20 (With updates from Nov. 21): NIT Durgapur students hold candlelight march; (Updated) HRD Minister Responds to tweet; Internet access restricted at NIT-D
Nov. 22 (With updates from Nov. 23): NIT Durgapur authorities meet protesting students, MHRD Officials to visit on Monday
We shall continue to write about the ongoing updates regarding this incident.