Greater Noida A five-member internal complaints committee’s report from Sharda University in the suicide case of a 21-year-old second-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) student, that was to be submitted within five days, has been delayed by over 15 days, said police on Sunday, adding that the delay is also hampering the ongoing police investigation.
On July 18, the second-year BDS student from Gurugram was found dead inside room 1209(C) on the 12th floor of Mandela hostel around 8.45 pm after a student in room 1209(B) received a call from the deceased’s parents to check on her.
The college authorities, without informing the police or parents for over 90 minutes, rushed the girl to Sharda Hospital, where doctors declared her dead and alerted Knowledge Park police via 112.
“We were informed that the committee submitted its report to the vice chancellor of the university. But it has not yet been handed over to the police. The university is delaying the report, citing its incompleteness,” said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity.
“We have recorded statements from more than 15 people so far but have yet to proceed further due to the absence of the report,” the officer said.
“In our investigation, it is confirmed that the university did not inform the police or parents for more than an hour after the incident. Later, they alleged that she was not performing well in her studies and had low attendance. If this was the case, they would not have issued an admit card to the student for annual exams,” said the officer, adding that they are examining the laptop, mobile, and other electronic gadgets to collect evidence.
The statements of the deceased’s parents were also recorded by the committee and the police.
“On August 1, we recorded our statements before Knowledge Park police and submitted all the evidence to the Supreme Court committee. We are also waiting for the report, but we were informed that the committee is unable to finalise it due to errors flagged by their legal team. They (university) are powerful and not ready to listen anything,” said the deceased’s father.
Greater Noida, additional deputy commissioner of police, Sudhir Kumar confirmed that the investigation is getting delayed due to a delay in the committee report. “We are also waiting for the report,” he said.
The arrested assistant professor Shairy Vashist and associate professor Mahinder Singh Chouhan remain behind bars, said the police, adding that a case under sections 108 (abetment to suicide), 238 (destruction of evidence), 79 (insulting modesty of a woman), 352 (insult), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) was registered against five faculty members of the college, including the dean of the Dental department, at Knowledge Park police station.
Dr Ajit Kumar, the director of public relations at Sharda University, did not revert to calls or messages by HT for a response.