CM Sarma demands CBI probe into death of IIT-Kharagpur student; writes to Mamata Banerjee

Guwahati : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday urged his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee to hand over the investigation related to the unnatural death of IIT-Kharagpur student Faizan Ahmed to the CBI.

Ahmed, who was found dead in a hostel room in IIT-Kharagpur nearly two years ago, was a native of Assam’s Tinsukia District.

Sarma, in a letter to Banerjee, wrote, “Late Faizan Ahmed was found dead in his hostel room on October 14, 2022. Although his death was claimed by the college authority to be a case of suicide, his bereaved parents had observed injury marks on his body which indicated that it was case of homicide.

“I had, therefore, requested you for a thorough investigation into the unnatural death of the bright young student.

“It is now reported that, as directed by the Hon'ble Calcutta High Court, a second autopsy was carried out by exhuming late Faizan Ahmed's body.

“According to the second forensic report, there was a gunshot wound on the upper left side of late Faizan Ahmed's neck and a stab wound on the right side of his neck.”

The Assam Chief Minister said that in view of the findings of the latest forensic report, it is imperative that the perpetrators of the crime as well as any other person involved in concealing the murder are brought to book, thereby ensuring justice to the deceased and closure to the grief-stricken parents.

“I, therefore, request you to kindly hand over the case to the CBI for a transparent and fair investigation of the crime,” Sarma wrote in the letter.

Last year, the Calcutta High Court ordered the exhumation of Faizan's body in Assam for a second autopsy after an expert chosen by the court identified various irregularities in the original one.

A team from the West Bengal Police transported the body to Kolkata, where a court-appointed specialist performed a second autopsy.