Bhubaneswar: Days after an Odia assistant professor was found dead at NIT-Hamirpur hostel in Himachal Pradesh, his family members Wednesday approached Odisha police DG Abhay seeking an impartial probe into the incident.
DG Abhay, meanwhile, contacted his counterpart in Himachal Pradesh and requested for a thorough investigation into the matter.
The deceased assistant professor, identified as Priyadarshi Biplab Kumar (29), hailed from Bentapur area in Puri district. He served in the mechanical engineering department at the National Institute of Technology.
According to Priyadarshi’s uncle Dayanidhi Harichandan, the deceased was staying at his home as the institute had been closed amid the COVID-19 outbreak. He left for Himachal Pradesh August 24 after being called in by his department.
After reaching the NIT August 25, Priyadarshi was asked to undergo quarantine at the institute’s guesthouse. After finishing his quarantine period, he was allowed to his room in the institute’s hostel September 6 – Sunday. The same day, he spoke to his mother and promised to return her call – which never came. Many calls to him from his mother and friends also went unanswered Sunday night.
Worried about his wellbeing, the door of his hostel room was broken in presence of hostel mates and hostel warden Monday where he was found to be alive but bleeding from his mouth and nose. He was admitted to a nearby hospital where the doctors suspected brain haemorrhage and referred him to PGI Chandigarh where the doctors announced him dead on arrival.
The hospital also found him positive for COVID-19.
While the institution authorities claimed Priydarshi to have died of COVID-19, his family member suspect foul play and said that he had no symptoms of COVID-19 while he stayed in Odisha and until he left for Himachal Pradesh. One of his friends said that he showed no symptoms of COVID-19 at the time he was shifted to his room at the NIT Sunday morning.
Priyadarshi’s family members said that he had joined NIT-Hamirpur back in November 2019. He had been telling his family members that he was reluctant to interact with others in the institute as they were hostile to him.
Besides, Priyadarshi’s family members further said that most of the faculty members at the NIT had been asked to work from home after the outbreak. However, a senior official from mechanical engineering department allegedly asked him to report to work immediately failing which he would have to take a pay cut.
“These circumstances make us believe that there is more to his death that being officially told,” Harichandan said.
The family members of the young assistant professor have urged DGP Abhay to press for an impartial probe into the incident given the mystery surrounding his death.