The circumstances that led to the death of Fathima Latheef, a student of IIT-Madras, will now be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
This follows a consent order issued by the State government on Saturday, which was, in turn, based on the Centre’s communication to the State last week.
On December 11, the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, prompted by a communication from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, wrote to the State government, seeking the transfer of the case to the CBI. Till now, the case has been handled by the Central Crime Branch.
In a recommendation sent to the State government on Saturday, Commissioner of Police for Greater Chennai A.K. Viswanathan referred to “demands from various quarters” for entrusting the CBI with the case.
He wanted the government to give consent to his recommendation. Director General of Police J.K. Tripathy, who enclosed the proposal of the Commissioner, gave his concurrence.
In July, the student joined an integrated course in humanities and development studies. She was suspected to have committed suicide, and on November 9, her body was recovered from her hostel room. A case was registered with the Kotturpuram police station.
Foul play
The father of the student suspected foul play, and in the last one month, he had met a number of dignitaries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, apart from Tamil Nadu and Kerala Chief Ministers Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Pinarayi Vijayan.
The death of the student triggered a controversy as several political parties demanded a transparent and fair probe. Allegations were levelled against sections of the faculty of the IIT for having caused ‘harassment’ to the student.
