Even two years after her alleged suicide and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) taking over the probe, there hasn’t been any progress in the investigation into the death of Fathima Latheef.
On her second death anniversary on Tuesday, her father Abdul Latheef met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking his intervention for a speedy and fair investigation. Apart from the CBI team visiting her home once and a recent summons to appear before the CBI court in Chennai to record their statements under Section 164, there has been no progress in the case, says her family. The Chief Minister assured the family of all support and said the State Government would make arrangements so that the family could meet Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. Mr. Stalin, who was the Leader of the Opposition at the time of her death, had marked his protest and demanded a time-bound investigation.
Botch-up bid alleged
19-year-old Fathima was found dead in her hostel room at the Indian Institute of Madras, on November 9, 2019. According to her family, the Kottupuram police had tried to botch up investigation and close the case as a suicide. While her family retrieved notes left by Fathima in her phone accusing some faculty members, the police officials said Fathima committed suicide since she could not score good marks in the first-semester examination. Her family points out that Fathima, a very bright student and a rank holder, had no reason to end her life and she always scored good marks in all her examinations after joining the IIT. They alleged that the young girl was facing consistent harassment from some faculty members and her friends seemed scared. After widespread protests, the case was first transferred to CCB and then to the CBI.
Visit by CBI team
When there was no progress in the case after the CBI taking over it, her father had approached the CBI director expressing his disappointment. Later, the CBI team visited Kollam in December 2020 for recording the statement of her family, more than a year after her death. Reportedly, COVID-19 related restrictions had caused the delay and the family expects some kind of headway in the coming days.