IIT-Madras Suicide: Fathima Latheef's parents to meet Tamil Nadu CM

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The case of Fathima Latheef, the 19-year-old IIT Madras student who committed suicide on November 8 has escalated as the girl's parents are going to meet Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami today urging them to conduct a fair probe into the matter of their daughter's death. 

As per reports, the probe into the death of Fathima Latheef was handed over to the Central Crime Branch amidst massive protest by students. The investigation into the case would begin with the prob officer summoning the teacher against whom Fathima had levelled allegations in her suicide note. 

Suicide Note

"Sudarshan Padmanabhan is the cause of my death,” is what IIT Madras student Fathima Latheef had to to say before she committed suicide inside her hostel room on November 9. Four days after her suicide, her family accused a professor of insulting her in the name of her religion. Fathima's father Abdul Latheef has appealed Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to ensure a fair probe into his daughter's death alleging that she was facing constant harassment over her faith. Soon after the Fathima's suicide note came to public domain, a student organisation of People Front of India, Campus Front of India (CFI), conducted a protest outside the gates of IIT Madras, demanding justice for Fathima.

In a detailed suicide note recovered from her phone, Fathima had named faculty members -- Hemachandran and Brahme alongside accusing Sudarshan Padma for her death. She began the note by saying, "In the case of my death. This should be considered as my last non-nuncupative statement."

Protests Intensify

Several students of the IIT Madras, on Friday, staged a protest demanding justice for Fathima Latheef. In the protest led by the Students Federation of India (SFI), students raised slogans calling for the arrest of the professors named in her suicide note, the protestors also demanded swift action by the police.

On Tuesday, Abdul Latheef, the father of the student, held a press conference and sought a fair probe, expressing concerns over the alleged influence of the IIT authorities. Fathima Lateef hailed from Kerala and was pursuing her under-graduation course in the Humanities Department at the IIT Madras.