Students of the College of Engineering and Technology sit on a dharna beside a smashed vehicle in Bhubaneswar on Friday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, March 2: Students of the College of Engineering and Technology (CET) at Ghatikia on the city outskirts today sat on a dharna to demand action against some teachers for allegedly harassing a student who committed suicide yesterday.

A fourth-year student of mechanical engineering Anil Kumar Jaisingh, who was caught copying during an examination yesterday, committed suicide by jumping from the top of a 15-storeyed building at Ghatikia on Thursday afternoon. The agitating students, who sat in protest outside the principal’s office, alleged that four teachers had harassed Jaisingh after he was caught copying.

Responding to the allegation, the college authorities said the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) had constituted a committee to inquire into the incident.

“We have also informed the commissioner-cum-secretary of the employment, technical education and training department. He will take a decision in this regard,” said B.L. Agarwal, principal in charge of the college.

Angry students today ransacked the college campus damaging vehicles and furniture. They alleged that the college authorities neither visited the hospital where Jaisingh’s body was taken nor did they meet his bereaved family members.

Jaisingh’s friends alleged that after he was caught copying yesterday, four examiners, who were present in the room, threatened to ruin his career.

“Since he had cleared the Staff Selection Board test for joining the army, he was desperate to pass in the exams. But, the teachers’ threat made him worried,” said Shyam, one of his friends. Jaisingh’s father, who was also in the army, had died during a military operation in Jammu and Kashmir in 1998.

“He was not the kind of a person who would commit suicide. But, they pushed him to the edge,” said Rajesh Agarwal, another student. The agitating students said they wanted the teachers involved in the incident to be dismissed and compensation be paid to the family of the deceased.

However, college authorities claimed that when examiners caught Jaisingh copying and asked him to sign some papers admitting malpractice, he refused. “The teachers did not harass him. His suicide should not be linked to this incident. He might have been emotionally weak,” said the acting principal.

This morning, the college authorities held a meeting with the students. But, no result came out of it. As the students have decided to sit on an indefinite strike, the authorities have written to the BPUT about the matter.

The college authorities are keen to resolve the issue as examinations for first and third semester students are scheduled for tomorrow.