Rehana Ahmed, the mother of Faizan Ahmed, the 23-year-old IIT Kharagpur student whose lifeless body was discovered in his hostel room last October, remains undeterred in her quest for justice.
In a recent meeting with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) officers heading the case, Rehana and her lawyer were extensively questioned about various aspects of Faizan’s life, shedding light on his childhood, behaviour, dietary habits, and whether he was undergoing any treatment for depression. The SIT, led by senior IPS officer Jayaraman, shared a list of suspects with Rehana.
During the meeting held on December 2, officials handed Rehana suspected phone numbers, seeking her assistance in narrowing down the investigation. Reports suggest that the SIT is scrutinizing leads and has assured Rehana that justice will prevail.
The SIT provided Rehana with all of Faizan’s belongings during her visit to IIT Kharagpur on December 6. However, she expressed disappointment that no official from the institute approached them to collect Faizan’s possessions during the visit.
In her interactions with the SIT officers and Faizan’s friends, she learned that her son had experienced ragging at the campus, a distressing detail previously undisclosed to the family.
The turning point in the investigation occurred when Faizan’s parents disputed the initial ruling of suicide. Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the Calcutta High Court, after reviewing the ‘second autopsy report,’ deemed it a ‘homicide.’ Faizan, a resident of Tinsukia, cracked the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) in 2020 with the 11th All India Rank (AIR) and received a scholarship from the Assam government.
The first postmortem report failed to establish a concrete cause of death, with no poisonous substances found in Faizan’s body, and no external hanging marks. Retired forensic expert Ajay Kumar Gupta, instructed by the high court, pointed towards a potential case of hematoma after reviewing video clippings of the first postmortem. A second autopsy, ordered by the high court, was conducted at Calcutta Medical College Hospital on May 27 after exhuming Faizan’s body from Dibrugarh.
The SIT is expected to present its report on December 18, marking a crucial milestone in Rehana’s unwavering pursuit of justice for her son.
Hope her case will not be closed like Fatima Nafees mother of missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed.