Assam: Silchar NIT suspends five final semester students for trashing junior, 15 receive warning

The National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Assam's Silchar on April 19 suspended five final semester engineering students for trashing a junior. 

Additionally, six students have been rusticated from the hostel and nine others have received warnings for being involved in the same incident. 

The decision was taken after a thorough internal investigation followed by multiple meetings with the faculties and legal teams, said the registrar of NIT Silchar, KL Baishnab. 

On March 31, a fourth-semester student, Siddhant Paitya, and his classmate were allegedly trashed by a group of eighth-semester students inside the campus following a verbal exchange. 

Paitya was rushed to Silchar Medical College and Hospitals (SMCH) in critical condition immediately. A day later he lodged an FIR against 18 seniors at Ghungoor Police Outpost with the help of his family members.

Police registered a case against the accused under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and launched an investigation. Superintendent of police of Cachar district Numal Mahatta said that he met the victim in the hospital and also talked to the NIT Silchar authorities about it. 

On Tuesday evening, authorities of NIT Silchar issued a notice about the actions taken against the accused students and the dean of the students welfare department in the order wrote that five final semester students will face academic suspension. 

"Academic suspension for the current semester has been imposed on Sparsh Munakhia, Mehul Dewangan, Prafful Chauhan, Yogesh Kakodia and Vishwajeet Niranjan Kant. They are debarred from the hostel for that period and a warning letter to be issued," the dean wrote. 

For six students namely Abhijit Kalita, Biki Das, Sourav Jyoti Deka, Rishav Anand, and Subham Srivastava, the dean wrote, "They are debarred from the hostel for the current semester with immediate effect and a warning letter to be issued."

Warning letter will also be issued against Naman Tyagi, Satyabrata Borah, Dhritman Das, Subradeep Gogo, Yash Tripathy, Vivek Singh, Prateek Vij, Susmit Gupta and Arunangshu Roy. Another student named Robin Paul has been debarred from the hostel for one month with immediate effect and a warning letter has been issued.

Additionally, all the above-mentioned students are debarred from T&P coordinators, Gymkhana membership, and all other management roles in institutional activities during their remaining period of stay at NIT Silchar. Parents/guardians of all the above-mentioned students have been intimated about the incident, the order read further. 

The dean further wrote, "As per the warning letter all the above students are required to submit an undertaking that they will not involve themselves in any such activities during their remaining period of stay at NIT Silchar on a non-judicial stamp paper of Rs.100/- in presence of a Notary Public within 15 days of publication of this notification. Otherwise, appropriate disciplinary action(s) including expulsion from the Institute may be imposed."