Reported by HT Correspondent | Written by Pathi Venkata Thadhagath
The death of a student at the Azim Premji University has created controversy with his fellow students claiming that he died days after participating in a hunger strike. 26-year-old Abhijit Shinde, a first-year MA Development student, collapsed while participating in the college festival and died of cardiac arrest on Friday.
A post-graduation student and friend of Shinde said that he had participated in the hunger strike on Thursday. “He was on hunger strike for 24 hours. We did not know that there is a proper way to break the fast and only realised after he passed away,” said the student.
For over ten days, the APU students have been protesting the shuttle fees of ₹8,500 per semester imposed by the college and demanding a blanket waiver. The students alleged the APU is forcing them to pay a mandatory shuttle fee for ferrying them from their KGA hostel, located around 2.5 kilometres away, to and from the campus. They said the management failed to inform them about the additional fees during the admission process and refused to listen to their issues.
Also Read | Azim Premji University warns students protesting against shuttle fees
According to a student, the Shinde was on hunger strike from the 10th day of this ongoing protest, and he broke the fast only on Thursday. The student alleged that the university lacked the basic medical facilities inside the campus and tried to threaten the protesting students.
“The college doesn’t have any medical support ready for emergencies even after we informed them about the hunger strike… We all are devastated by the loss and university management is only trying to save the reputation by saying that he was not part of the protest,” the student added.
The spokesperson also said that medical facilities were available at the university and refuted the allegations by the students that no medical help was provided. The university also claimed that the deceased was not part of the hunger strike.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the unfortunate demise of a student at the University campus. The student, while participating in the opening event of the annual student festival, collapsed and, despite immediate medical help could not be saved. Our hearts go out to his family and friends who knew and loved him. We are doing everything possible to support his immediate family at this time of grief. The deceased student was not on hunger strike on February 23, Thursday or February 24, Friday. We request that we respect the family’s privacy during this time,” a spokesperson of the university said.