This is an archive article published on September 28, 2024
Death of IIMA student: Cops say no evidence yet of abetment to suicide
Akshith Bhukya’s father Hemant had submitted a written complaint to the police, asking them to look into allegations against a senior female administrative staffer at IIMA.
Days after a 24-year-old MBA student was found dead inside his hostel room at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), the police have said that, prima facie, they have not found anything to suggest that there was any instance of abetment to suicide.
This comes a day after the father of Akshith Bhukya, who was from Telangana, lodged a complaint with police, requesting them to look into allegations that the student had been pressured and threatened by an administrative staffer at the institute over an upcoming symposium.
Police, however, told The Indian Express that they have not found any evidence yet to support the allegations. “This case still remains an accidental death one,” a police official said.
Investigating officer RL Patel said Bhukya was heading the coordination committee of The Red Brick Summit (TRBS), IIMA’s annual management symposium. The committee had brought in sponsorship from a third-party firm. “The company was going to hold an advance event as part of the deal. However, this company allegedly used an IIMA logo in their promotional material and uploaded it on social media platforms. This is said to have rankled senior officials at the premier institute,” an officer connected with the case said. The police officer said that one of the administrative staffers told another member of the coordination committee that the company did not have the authority to use the IIMA logo. They were asked to pull it down from social media and cancel the event, the officer added.
“The firm deleted the posts and the event was cancelled. The entire controversy had ended by September 20. Later on, this staffer texted a member of the coordination committee that they should be more careful in the future, especially regarding the use of the IIMA logo by third parties,” the police officer said.
“We have found no evidence to support the allegations that Bhukya took the extreme step following pressure from the administrative staffer,” Patel said.
Police officers said they spoke to students involved in this committee who said that they were planning the events together till 11.45 pm on September 25, adding they were in touch with Bhukya till 10.30 am on September 26. His body was found around 3.45 pm that evening. In a Facebook post on Friday, the organisers of TRBS announced that the event, scheduled to kick off that day, has been called off.
Brendan Dabhi works with The Indian Express, focusing his comprehensive reporting primarily on Gujarat. He covers the region's most critical social, legal, and administrative sectors, notably specializing at the intersection of health, social justice, and disasters.
Expertise
Health and Public Policy: He has deep expertise in healthcare issues, including rare diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the complex logistics of organ transplants, and public health challenges like drug-resistant TB and heat health surveillance. His on-ground reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic and Mucormycosis was critical in exposing healthcare challenges faced by marginalized communities in Gujarat.
Social Justice and Legal Administration: He reports on the functioning of the legal and police system, including the impact of judicial philosophy, forensics and crucial administrative reforms (. He covers major surveillance and crackdown exercises by the Gujarat police and security on the international border.
Disaster and Crisis Management: His work closely tracks how government and civic bodies respond to large-scale crises, providing essential coverage on the human and administrative fallout of disasters including cyclones, floods, conflict, major fires and reported extensively on the AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad.
Civic Infrastructure and Governance: Provides timely reports on critical civic failures, including large scale infrastructure projects by the railways and civic bodies, as well as the enforcement of municipal regulations and their impact on residents and heritage. ... Read More
